Foodless Friday – The Many Health Benefits of Diatomaceous Earth

I’ve gotten a lot of emails and messages from IBIH readers asking for updates on my recent issues with food intolerances. First I want to say thank you so much for your concern and well wishes – it really means a lot to me. I’m so excited to let you know that I can now EAT ALL OF THE THINGS!!!!! Which is both good and bad! ha ha!

I went from being able to eat and drink almost nothing without having a reaction, to now being able to eat and drink pretty much anything. I credit this amazing change to the diatomaceous earth I started taking almost 2 weeks ago. In my desperation to find answers to my sudden onset of intolerance to everything, and in getting no answers from the doctors I tried, I did a ton of research online. I tried all sorts of supplements and enzymes in case it was a Histamine Intolerance and saw no improvement.

Mr. Hungry was also doing research and asked me about parasites, because he read that they could cause a sudden onset of food and chemical intolerances. In our research about that, we found diatomaceous earth (DE) which was supposed to kill parasites with no chemicals or herbs, so it was unlikely that I would have a reaction to it. Since DE was also purported to flush out viral, fungal and bacterial pathogens, heavy metals (especially mercury since I have a few amalgam fillings), yeast (Candida) and pesticide residues (we live in an agricultural area and they spray year round here), I thought it was worth trying since all of those things can also contribute to sudden intolerances.

I don’t know how quickly it actually worked, but my last reaction was on a Sunday evening (it was a bad one) and I started taking the DE the next morning and haven’t had a reaction since. I started testing foods in small amounts that Thursday, and nothing produced a reaction. By this past Sunday I was eating everything, and even drank a beer with no issues.

I deliberately pushed the envelope with sugar, gluten, and high sulfite foods like canned tomatoes and aged cheese, just waiting for a reaction to come out of nowhere and it never did (though I felt bloated and awful from eating all that junk). I still can’t believe it! Now that I can eat anything, I’m going back to my low carb/gluten free way of eating (with the occasional splurge) before I gain all the weight back that I lost since January! I’m also very excited to be back in the kitchen and cooking for the blog again. I have lots of recipes on my list to share with you guys soon, and I’m so looking forward to that!

While I can’t be 100% sure that it was the DE that fixed my problem, in my gut I feel strongly that it was no coincidence that my issues went away when I started taking it. I don’t know if it was parasites, or pathogens, or yeast, or built up toxins that were causing my intolerances – maybe it was a combination of things, but I can tell you that in the first week of taking it I saw some very disturbing things getting “flushed” out. That’s all I’m going to say about it, and no I did not take pictures, but I feel a lot better knowing that stuff is gone – whether it was causing my food intolerances or not!

Diatomaceous Earth isn’t just for parasites and all of the other stuff I mentioned, though that alone is more than enough reason for me to keep taking it! There are many, many other health benefits that come from taking DE – including lowering blood pressure and cholesterol! DE is also made up of mostly silica which is crucial for the production of collagen which improves skin tone and the health of your joints and tendons – not to mention gorgeous hair and nails!

I read so many testimonials about DE improving people’s arthritis and joint pain that I told my mother in law about it and she started taking it too. Mr. Hungry is also a believer and has been taking it for over a week, and I’ll be starting our son on it in small doses soon. DE is also used for livestock and pets to control worms and parasites. All of our cats will be starting the DE as well, since that is likely ground zero for a lot of potential parasites that the rest of our family might come in contact with.

There are so many uses for DE that I can’t possibly write about all of them here so I’m going to give you a few great links on it’s many uses, how to use it, where to get it, etc.

To take the DE, stir one tablespoon (you can work up to that amount if you’d like) into about 4 ounces of water. Be very careful not to inhale the dust from it when stirring. Once it’s fully incorporated, drink it down quickly and chase with some more water or your drink of choice. It’s best taken on an empty stomach in the morning or evening before bed (or both if you’re hard core!)

Drink lots of water throughout the day or you may get “bound up” as they say. You may experience some mild stomach discomfort and strange sensations in your abdomen in the first few days (things dying?!?!? Ewww!) which Mr. Hungry and I both did.

It’s also possible to have a Herxheimer Reaction, which is a normal part of detoxing, during which you may experience flu-like symptoms for a few days. This is a result of the toxins being released from the parasites, fungus, viruses, bacteria or other pathogens being killed off. Our family already had a bad cold the week we started taking it so it’s hard to say if we experienced that or not. But if you do, stay the course – it’s a good thing!

If you have food intolerances that randomly just popped up like I did (or even if you’ve had them for awhile), don’t just accept that they are simply there for life like most allergists will tell you. Try the DE – it’s cheap and has many other health benefits so you have nothing to lose! I can’t say enough how glad I am that I found and ordered this amazing product! I’m a believer for life!

If you’ve used DE before with great results (or not) we’d love to hear from you! And if you haven’t yet, but are inspired to research it and try it out for yourself, please do let me know about your experiences with it! I feel like I want to bag it up and hand it out to everyone I know! Hmmm…maybe there is a DE giveaway in the near future – I’ll get on that! ;)

UPDATE 2: I received an email from Larry Smith, the President of Earthworks, who wanted to clear up the misconception about any dangers of inhaling food grade diatomaceous earth – here’s what he wrote: “This is a misunderstanding about food grade DE. There are 2 kinds of DE—food grade and filter grade (used in swimming pool and other filters) Only the filter grade is dangerous to breathe. The “dangerous” part of DE is the amount of crystalline silica that is in it. Filter grade is 65% crystalline silica while food grade is less than 1/10 of 1%! The world health org. has said that diatomaceous earth is safe to breathe as long as the crystalline content is under 2%. Food grade is 20X lower than even that level!!”

So no need to be concerned about any danger associated with using DE for pets, bedding, consumption or anything else – as long as it’s FOOD GRADE! Thanks so much for clearing that up Larry!!! It’s a huge relief to know that I don’t have to worry about that anymore!

Necessary internet disclaimer: I am not a doctor, nor do I have any medical training – I’m just sharing what worked for me. Use this product at your own risk. Also, this is not a sponsored or for profit post, and I have no affiliation with any of the companies that produce this product.

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I know this is an old post but it came up when I DE, so I hope you’re still monitoring it.

I’m keto and do 16:8 intermittent fasting most days. I just started 1T of DE last night and am thinking about adding another 1T in the am. Your suggestions say to take it on an empty stomach 1 hour before eating. I don’t eat breakfast but I do have a matcha tea that I mix with 1T hemp hearts and 2T coconut oil. Is it important that I wait an hour before drinking my tea? I usually drink it first thing when I get up.

I want this to be a part of my healing process so bad, but I ended up with chest pain causing huge hospital bills, and ironically it was just constipation! I did drink a lot of water, but I have had an iliostomy and have only 4 inches of large intestines, so I have to be careful. I also have many autoimmune issues. I have had hives for five years now, severe, daily and on huge amounts of prednisone which only helps slightly. After also trying chemotherapy and leprosy drugs, in frustration, I tried eliminating wheat, dairy, sugar, caffeine, alcohol, and nightshades. I have added tumeric, ACV, only organic EVOO and coconut oils, probiotics, and HCL/Betain. Hives went away after a huge herxneimer reaction. Every time I cheat even a little bit they return. A friend told me not to use DE for a few hours before and after I ate anything. Is there anything you know about that? With my intestinal situation, and my recent bout with constipation, I just want to be sure. Intermittent fasting helps also, so I guess I could take DE then, but you are all suggesting it on an ongoing basis. Advice please!

Today you shared this older post and I was surprised to see DE mentioned. I have a lot of health issues and found out about DE in thyroid groups. I felt that I probably had Candida. I ate tons of sugar all the time. I joined a FB group that was about DE and decided to finally start about 15 months ago. For the most part I’ve stuck to the routine, and I never stick to anything. I only started with 1/4 tsp and while many here seem to have done OK starting with more, I suggest starting slowly. I had to also increase slowly, and maybe that’s because of my poor diet and cancer treatment. I had a decrease in my appetite almost immediately. I was off sugar very quickly. I’ve been able to (mostly) stick to a LCHF way of eating. I’ve lost some weight, hair and nails grow, and I have energy. I am only up to 2 tsps daily and still get the benefits. For those worried about it interfering with medications, I have no thyroid and will die (literally) without my medication. I’m doing great, I just space DE the same way I would with anything else, at least an hour after my medication. I’m going to share this post with my DE group. I think DE can be very helpful for those trying to cut out sugar and carbs. At first I had to hide the DE in something else, but now I mix it right into water and just throw it back.

Could you post an update on how you’re doing these days? My experience is extremely similar to yours. Are you still taking DE? Is it still helping you? Have you discovered anything else that has helped you? Did you ever figure out what caused this to happen to you in the first place? I would love a general update. I hope you are doing well. Thanks!

Hi, I’ve been taking Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth with meals off and on for a few months and I can definitely feel it first in my stomach then in my intestines. I’m just wondering: why does DE need to be ingested on an empty stomach?

I just lost 20 pounds on NutriMost, but my stomach seems bloated. I suspected candida and in researching, came across this site and others talking about DE. I decided to try it and for started seven days ago with just a teaspoon. No reaction so I took a tablespoon the next day, and next, then two tablespoons, one in the morning on an empty stomach and one before bed. After that, the next day I had a vague kind of sick feeling after eating, like the beginning of a stomach ache. After the next meal, I noticed the same thing. The sick feeling is hard to pinpoint, just kind of like when you have eaten something that is not going to agree with you. Not an upset stomach though. Lying in bed last night I could still feel kind of sick.

Today I didn’t take anymore DE and have still kind of had a sick pain. It’s not severe but it’s constant. I would think if it is detox it would be more severe, or I would see or feel other signs of it. Instead I’m just wondering if I’ve messed up my liver or anything like that. I was drinking a lot of water, it still constipated me yesterday but I was okay today. No sign of worms or anything. It has so many benefits and I was excited about it -my hands had been scratchy dry with the cold weather and I did see improvement after just two days. But now I’m worried.

Anyway that is my experience so far. Many of the posts here are old but it seems obvious a lot of the symptoms are parasites. There is a show on now called “Monsters Inside Me” about different kinds of parasites that people have gotten. It is really kind of scary. I would never, never eat sushi or any raw food! They can sure cause a lot of different kinds of symptoms.

Also, I was reading recently that sudden allergic or food intolerance reactions can be caused by a new pesticide having been used on a crop. Almonds are the most recent example. People who never had problems with almonds before suddenly develop “allergic” reactions – it’s not the food itself at all. It’s the pesticide. Something to think about.

I hope people will keep posting their experiences. If I find out what this sick feeling is, I will update.

You obviously took too much too fast. Start slow and raise the dose slowly. If I were you I would start over. Assuming you were taking a quality food grade, you were most likely disturbing a bunch of worms at once. Not to mention all of the other viruses, candida, metals, being pulled out. Some parasites are affected by small doses while others take a larger dose to kill them. If you start small you kill the easy ones and expel them without really disturbing the harder to kill ones then as you SLOWLY up the dose you get the next round of them and so on. You just dropped a huge bomb on them all at once causing your symptoms.

I don’t get it. Everybody loves this so much, but ever since I took it for a week, more or less, I’ve had GI problems like crazy. I took a teaspoon twice a day, at the most, in water or juice on an empty stomach, and now I get constipation, bloating, and/or diarrhea that my usual natural remedies don’t do much for. It was 100% codex food grade. I have food intolerances, probably candida, and mercury fillings I wanted to prepare to remove, and I heard DE was good for all those things, so I was excited to find such a great supplement. Not. I feel like it threw my gut flora all out of whack or lodged in the crevices of my colon or God knows wbat.

I have a similar experience to yours, except that for the first 3 months it was wonderful – it got rid of constipation bloating etc. After 3 months, the symptoms came back. I tried to increase the dosage and drink more water but it got worse. I tried to reduce the dosage but it made no difference. And now I don’t know whether to stop it altogether or continue. I wonder if diet has anything to do with it. I follow the scd diet

Hi Melissa, I have to say…I’ve had a very similar discovery to you of recent.

It is now the end of April and I started to get noticable hives around november at a time of being really stressed. From then I started to eliminate foods one by one, gluten, lactose, deadly nightshades, but still I was getting this God awful rash on my face. I then realised it was my fabric softener, I changed it went and had an allergy test and true enough, I had a perfume mix allergy. This was discovered in March. From then on I removed all products (cleaning and cosmetic) that contained fragrance, rewashed everything – no small feet! But after that the rash still wouldn’t quite budge. I knew this sudden allergy had to be something else, why did it just appear?! I was also experiencing headaches, my vision seemed off even though the optomotrist said I had excellent vision, and all energy was gone. To top it all I was experiencing a lot of anxiety – more than I had experienced in years.

My reasearch pointed to Candida, something my sister has suffered from for years and has controlled with diet. I went on a serious sugar free, candida diet. Took probiotics, magnesium, vit c, capylic acid, and was pretty strict with the diet overall. Things were slowly improving.

But finally I discovered diatomaceous earth a couple of weeks ago, bought some Food Grade on amazon, took some on the Friday morning (luckily I was home) and proceeded to have severe die off until the evening. But after that, I’ve been taking more and more (heaped teaspoon morning and night) and it’s only been 4 days!

My skin is healing. It’s not reacting like it did. I feel like it is hopefully one of the final solutions to removing this allergy and getting my life back. Good to hear about your journey, makes me feel like I’m truly moving in the right direction! x

Regarding the DE, I’ve read that it works better somehow if you add a few tablespoons to a large container of water, shake or stir it up, then let it sit overnight so the sediment can settle to the bottom. Then you drink what’s above the sediment, which is slightly translucent water. As your water is used up, you just continue to add more water to your container, shake it up so that the sediment is redistributed, and again let it settle.

I’ve taken DE the way you describe above, just mixing a teaspoon or tablespoon into water or juice and drinking it down, but I’ve found that it’s much more tolerable to take it as saturated water. It’s not gritty, it doesn’t have any taste. I’m curious if anyone else has tried it this way, and what your experience was?

This was great to read thank you for sharing your story. I did not see a mention and sorry if you did and I missed it of whether or not you continued doing this everyday beyond that first week? Are you doing a maintenance dose? I wasn’t sure if DE is safe for long term use, so just wanted to be sure. Thank you!

Hi there. I want to start my 13 month old daughter on DE but I have no idea how much or how often to give it to her. Also, I know it is recommended to be taken with water on an empty stomach, but she doesn’t drink the amount of water required to be mixed and she probably wouldn’t like it anyway so I’m afraid I won’t be able to just mix it with water to give to her to drink. She is still getting 2-3 bottles per day and I give her yogurt every morning so I’m wondering if it would be best to mix it in her yogurt??? Please let me know. Thanks!

So I just started taking DE 2 days ago. And I feel like crap. Headaches. Inner ear itchiness. Lower abdominal pains. Just not so good. And I have diarrhea and it smwlls so bad. Like insame bad. It smells like a full chemical porto potty. Is this normal?

Yes – it can happen! All kinds of gross and potentially old stuff that’s been hanging around in there is getting expelled, just be glad it’s on the outside now and keep the exhaust fan running lol. It gets better after you’ve been taking it awhile!

I started on DE one week ago today. I can say I sleep better and seem to work all day without the fatigue that I’ve been feeling for the last tear or so ( I’m 58 years old). I also had a terrible dandruff problem that has all but completely gone away! I’ve been an appliance repair tech since 1974, my hand have been in thousands of refrigerators and freezers over the years and I now suffer from arthritic symptoms in my fingers, these have begun to lessen after starting the DE. I think it has been a step in the right direction for me, but keep in mind, there is no substitute for common since! Eat well, exercise and take care of yourself! DE is a great supplement, not a cure for a bad lifestyle!

All I can say is it has been a very positive experience for me! I plan to continue using it as part of my daily routine.

Hi there! I have had a miraculous healing with DE. After 2 days of taking it I had a nest of large worms come out and my debilitating pain throughout my whole body got better every hour! but now I am concerned about heavy metal exposure and can’t find any info related to food grade DE containing heavy metals. Anything in your research About this? I’m using food grade …

Hi Kathleen, I am not a medical professional, but I have been working with a private Heavy Metal Toxicologist. He recommended I take DE. I am currently having my mercury amalgam fillings removed (one at a time every two weeks). As far as I understand, DE helps in the elimination of heavy metals from the body. As to how it does this, I do not know. It’s also good to hear of your success with worms. I am fairly confident I share this same issue. I’ve only been on DE for a few days so I’m holding tight to see what happens. Sorry for asking, but were yours visible in the toilet? Take care, R

Hi Kathleen, I also am not a medical professional, but I am into the natural allternatives and I have researched the Diatomacious Earth quite a lot. Here is some of what I have found out about it. Diatomaceous earth is probably the best natural anti-parasitic medication. It is a natural pesticide that does not harm humans or pets. It is believed to kill insects, worms and parasites by dehydrating them. One tablespoon of diatomaceous earth taken by an adult, once a day for seven days, is believed to be extremely effective for killing all parasites. Diatomaceous earth contains heavy metals as part of its mineral content, but it also contains selenium, which allows otherwise accumulative heavy metals to be safely flushed from the body. Therefore, it is not really a health concern despite the trace presence of aluminum and lead. It is recommended taking selenium supplements for a week after discontinuing this treatment to ensure that the body thoroughly neutralizes the metals. Concerned individuals can follow the parasite cleanse with a metal cleanse. research indicates that diatomaceous earth is the best overall parasite treatment for humans, because it can kill blood-borne parasites as well. When using it, be sure to drink plenty of fluids, because it will dehydrate a person considerably. A heavy metal cleanse can be done using a variety of substances. The following recommended supplements should be taken for about 10 days for a general purpose metal cleanse: •Cilantro (supplement 100 mg. per 50 lbs. of weight) •NAC (N-Acetyl-Cysteine) •Selenium •B complex vitamin •5-HTP •Garlic •Exercise •MSM (Methylsulfonylmethane) (Optional) •DMSA (Optional)

With all heavy metal cleanses, selenium should be used, because it neutralizes the metals in the blood from a toxicity standpoint, and it prevents them from being harmful. Sincerely Dale (EFT Practitioner and Life Coach)

I found that info so incredibly helpful! I was taking 1 tbsp of DE a day for months but started having problems with my kidneys so I discontinued it. Recenty I found out I tested positive for Two bad copies of the C677T MTHFR Mutation and that one of the problems the mutation causes is that I cannot eliminate toxins well or heavy metals. I wonder if that is why I was having some problems while most everyone else was not.

I have taken de since March 2014. I was reluctant at first, I had purchased it when I discovered the horror of bedbugs. After reading about it I started taking it, seeking relief for my back pain. It improved my symptoms and this sounds crazy, and knock on wood, but my sinuses are normal again, and I haven’t been ill, not even a cold..even when everyone at work was suffering. I had flu like symptoms during the first week, but not bad. I aso started using coconut oil for oil pulling and cooking. My skin and hair feel great. I never would have believed that DE would be so wonderful, but after these 6 months, I am a believer!

I’ve been taking DE for a few months now, 2 Tbsp a day. I uunderstand it acts in the power of opposites… being negatively charged it attracts and pulls out the positively charged bacteria, viruses, fungi, etc. My question – does it also attract and remove other positively charged components that our bodies actually need? For example, magnesium is positively charged. Will taking DE result in a magnesium deficiency?

As I’ve been taking DE, I’ve been listening to my body and have noticed a return to magnesium deficiency like conditions. I have done various cleanses to rid myself of yeast and parasites, all with good results. Educating myself along the way, I have recognized that having an internal environment allowing candida overgrowth and parasites results in several deficiencies due to the colon’s inability to absorb essential minerals, which cascades into numerous health conditions and illnesses. For me, as for many people, magnesium was one of the minerals in major deficit. Before I understood the root cause of the deficiency (candida, parasites), I took magnesium supplements in the proper bioavailable form (which is anything except magnesium oxide) and noticed a great improvement in my general well-being. As I began treating the source (candida, parasites) instead of the symptoms, I’ve seen even greater improvements, including when taking DE. However, I’ve noticed a return to magnesium deficiency like conditions. Hence, my question of does DE attract and remove other positively charged components, like magnesium, that the body needs?

It’s certainly possible Janie – that’s why it’s recommended that you don’t take supplements or medicines around the same time as the DE – so if you usually have your supplements in the morning, take your DE before bed so that it won’t interfere!

The food grade DE is totally fine for humans and animals to ingest. We rub it on our dogs everyone month to prevent fleas, and you can put some on their food to prevent worms. Important to note that the bugs need to have an exo – skeleton. The DE get into their joints and acts like little razor blades.

Melissa, Is this still working for you? About 10 weeks ago, I started having the same “allergy” problems. Taking B12 worked for a while, then stopped working. The same for spirulina. Curious to know if you’re still symptom free. Thanks!

Hi there! I am 18 and I am planning on taking DE for the first time in a few weeks. I know there are some amazing questions and answers about DE. I was simply wondering if I should be grossed out that I am going to drink dirt everyday? I mean I know I will get used to it but it kindof freaks me out. I have a yeast infection and I know about the toxins that are realeased when the yeast dies. Is there anything you could tell me like tips on what to do. Like should I change the way I eat completely? And how long is it safe to do this everyday?

Sometime around the beginning of the year, I began feeling sick randomly throughout the day. I would start getting hot and cold flashes/sweats, nauseous, light-headed, achy and just physically exhausted. Around May things began getting worse. The nausea progressed to vomiting and soon I was afraid to eat because the feeling was so intense and miserable. There was a period of about 3 days when I didn’t eat anything. I lost 6lbs in 4 days. I went to the Dr. and all my labs came back normal. My aunt mentioned that maybe I had a parasite since I had been eating so much sushi lately. I decided to look into natural parasite cleanse techniques and diatomaceous earth came up right away.

I started taking 1 T (heaping) a day and after about 5 days of feeling like I had the flu (as i understand it, parasites release toxins when stressed and their dying off can cause side effects), I woke up feeling better than I have in years. I not only don’t feel sick, but I actually feel GOOD. I had forgotten what it feels like to be healthy and it is so liberating!!!

I also began taking Para-stroy after seeing “proof” that I had parasites following an enema.

I highly encourage you to not only consider starting to take DE everyday (80% of people have parasites without experiencing major symptoms). It is extremely beneficial for other reasons so it is worth looking into!

I have ordered some DE after several coworkers are trying it. I am hoping to have less pain in my neck an muscles due to inflammation. Also, find out if I do see any parasites in my stool (tmi). I will post a follow up as I try it. It should arrive in a few days…I have been researching thud, ever since a a coworker told me about it last week. Love all the replies, good and bad, about peoples reaction to this product. ♡

Keep us posted! I hope you have good results with it – it may take a few weeks to see a difference inflammation-wise (or not), it usually takes my husband and I about 3 days to a week to notice a difference in his knees and my tendonitis – but we’ve been taking it on and off for over a year now!

Thank you to everyone here for sharing! I have had bad stomach problems for over a yr and at times i was only eating 1 small bowl of white rice a day because it was the only thing that wouldn’t cause major pain. My diet has been strict for many, many yrs. now. No sodas, fast food and very little bread. Rarely any dairy. After several failed attempts with the doctor and meds, I decided I needed to try and cure this on my own. In the last yr I rarely have pain, but no matter how small my meals are my stomach is so bloated it feels like I’ve had 4 large plates of pasta. Arg! A stool test came back positive for pin worms, I quickly started taking paragone and didn’t notice much of a difference. I’ve been doing a ton of research online and I’m now getting serious about taking DE and will be drinking diluted apple cider vinegar. I noticed my stomach feels better after drinking the acv. With a strict diet, DE and acv, I hope to feel normal again soon.

Hi Mellissa Thank you. Found your website useful. I started DE two weeks ago. First few days I went to the toilet twice a day. I suffer from irritable bowl syndrome. Both of the times I was constipated just like ever but it was strange that I had the urge to go twice a day. Slowly as the days went by, I became regular to one time a day. Apart from that I have not felt any other change yet. I still have the same pain and discomfort in my stomach. I also suffer from Fibromyalgia and can’t say that the pain is gone or decreased. I shall let you know as the time goes. I am hoping to get better but that remains to be seen. Thank you all for valuable information. Naz

Thanks for updating us Naz – if you haven’t already experimented with this, you may want to try eliminating gluten and or dairy from your diet for a few weeks and see if it helps – lots of people, including myself have had success with that because they both increase inflammation which can really exacerbate the fibromyalgia symptoms. Let us know if you try that and how it works out for you!

Also you might want to look at eliminating MSG and Aspartame because they are both excitotoxins. Which means that they over-excite the brain’s neurons, until many of them burn-out. An all-natural antidote for MSG poisoning is called taurine. Also known as L-taurine. I hope that this helps. Sincerely Dale

I am wondering if you’ve had any reaction from the mercury leeching from your amalgam fillings? I’ve read that your not supposed to take it if you have amalgams due to the danger of mercury pulling from the amalgams and flooding your system with mercury. I really want to try it for several reasons but am concerned because of the amalgams. You said you have amalgams so….

I didn’t Nicki – I don’t know that the DE would pull mercury from the fillings – only what has already been absorbed by your body already. If you have a link to an article that says otherwise I hope you’ll post it here, I’d love to read it! Thanks!

Ok, so i’m really curious – how many people are better after taking this after a year? I find that anything is great within the first week to month of taking it, but results are best measured over time.

Also, think about SIBO (Small Intestinal Bowel Overgrowth) as a cause of symptoms. Dr. Pimentel, MD’s book, a NEW IBS Solution may help people drastically. He advocates a course of xifaxin/neomycin followed by a controlled diet and an additional course of treatment, if needed, and finally vivonex, a pricey mineral supplement if the overgrowth persists.

The highly industrialized, highly processed, questionable quality, GMO food probably has something to do with it. The FDA, the CDC, and other parts of the government should be out to protect us, however they are only another layer of bureaucracy for the people to support. Be wary, this could be a cause of undigested food making it to the small intestine. SIBO is responsible for malabsorption, GI issues, Toxins, and some mental health issues. People will say you’re crazy or it’s all in your head, but it’s not.

I apologize if this was asked , I didn’t read all posts, but can you tell me if this is good to sprinkle on my herb pots? I just noticed that ants have started invading my pots!!:( I read DE was good to sprinkle on plants but not sure if its this one, the food grade or the other grade! Thanks -starter Gardener

Hi, Mellissa. Tx for this great thread. I bought some DE last fall when I was in the States (I live in Europe) after doing some research into it. My problem was chronic infection (like acne) on my face, forehead, and nose. I hoped that the DE would kill whatever pathogens were causing the infection. I did not have a miraculous recovery, but my condition did definitely improve. I carried some DE back in my suitcase (praying desperately no customs inspector would challenge me re: what it was). Recently my facial infection began to worsen, so I wanted to resume taking DE, but decided to just read a bit more about it before starting. I’m so glad I did, as your thread was 1st in my search result. I really like how you answer personally people, and your caring and sympathetic spirit can be felt in your replies to people’s posts. I will let you know how it goes for me this time.

Our family and house have been exposed several times to pinworms in the last couple weeks and after reading about it, I decided to use DE for our family as a precaution. Both kiddos and daddy are doing fine so far (mild headaches) but I have had miserable pain in my abdomen, back and legs since my first dose yesterday, which was only 1/2 tsp! Is this normal? I wouldn’t think such a small amount would cause such a painful herx reaction! I can’t bring myself to take another dose.

Hi, jumping on the band wagon here. I bought some DE as I want to make some toothpaste and saw in a recipie so started researching and now dosing the whole family! We are on day two so will update you later on but we are 3 adults, 3 kinder (4, 3 and 0), two dogs, six chickens and a rabbit. Convinced we all have some worms to be rid off. I used to ask the doc for wormer quite regularly but never saw any evidence after taking but quite possibly the worms just weren’t affected. So I am hoping this will be more effective once we work up to a full dose. I have also recently had an itchy patch on my scalp. Never had excema or dry skin so this is very unusual for me and am trying to rid my house of chemical. My delivery of soap nuts has arrived and so now I have to start playing!

Hello! I read thru every post. Was so interesting for me. Txs to all contributers. I am type 1 diabetic for MANY years. I started DE about 6 weeks ago. I take basically 1 large TBS per day with water or goat milk yogurt with some Vit. C & green powder. I have been reading for months on health since diabetes has been very hard on me & taken its toll on my overall health. I am a Mom & want to keep living & not go blind, lose my kidneys, etc. Got it? The effect of DE on me has been hair growth even where I basically had stopped growing much hair, (like under my arms), nails growing all the time, less small itchy skin rashesthat just appear out of nowhere, better sleep as I have a lot of pain in my left arm all the way down & neck & shoulder area & everytime I move, it would hurt even when asleep & I wld wake often, parasites definitely leaving me as I see small things in the toilet. Sometimes I don’t go for 2 whole days & then the 3rd day, I go 3 or 4 times & you can tell things came out. I did have some days in the first few weeks of where I felt worse rather than better but it was only 1 or 2 days & then it would pass. I knew this was detox. I still have pain in my arm, hands, neck & shoulder but I sleep much better & the pain has lessened but stll there & I can’t even left my left arm all the way up or do normal things with it anymore. Putting on deodarant is so hard or push ups, can’t do them. My hands are better as they used to be so stiff first thing in the morning but though not gone, I can move them easier. It’s called trigger finger & I have it in both hands. I buy my DE from the animal store & it is Food grade for sure & no one there even would imagine eating it, ha! I have been reading about DE for 2 months & am sold on it & will up my dose today. I do not feel like stopping on it & wondered, can’t I just keep using it forever or everyday as long as i want or do I need to take a break? Where can I find valid & specific info on this as this is a question I do have? Also, does anyone have any comments on my pain in my arm, all the down but mostly to the elbow and hands, neck & esp. left shoulder across to my neck. Never thought could be related to food allergies but cld it? Never had any that I am aware of & have eaten everything for years & before this neck, arm thing, was very flexible & I cld do all kinds of things. I can barely do yoga anymore with this arm problem or at least certain exercises. But since I do take DE daily now, it’s a little better. I used to have horrible gas from milk (eat very little), it’s now gone & constant leaky bowels has calmed down. In fact, I rarely if ever have gas. The only diary I eat now is cream in my coffee and if I eat yogurt, it’s goat only. I wld like to say your site makes me thankful as so many of you can’t eat much at all. It helped me count my blessings! So now my question above & a few more: my girls (teens–aware of hormone thing) have acne on their top back & shoulders. Cld be related to food allergies or …? What about diary? They don’t eat much of that but some. Could it be gluten related or they are too toxic or …? Any ideas? One teen has it bad so that she won’t even wear a bathing suit. My kids have to take DE daily. I get up in the a.m. & make it for them before school with a bit of cows yogurt or kefir. I also put in vit C & green powder, small amt as it loosens bowels. It’s a rule in my home since if they are not cleaned up, it will affect me. Our dog takes DE daily in food & we dust the couch where her pillow is & change her pillow case weekly & sprinkle DE on it too & vaccum it once a week. One thing I have started just recently is I juice. My body has been depleted of so much due to diabetes & childbirth (5 kids, 3 of them while diabetic). I look better, my skin is healthier, etc. I juice daily & drink beet, carrot, spinach, celery, greens, & when I have enough, give my kids too. I think that as we get rid of these leechees on our bodies, we must input so that is what I am doing as well. I realize that a lot of you can’t do this so I do pray that you’ll be able to up your food intake to things you like soon. High mineral content & vitamins from a natural source such as leafy greens is a plus for our bodies. Though I am getting yuck out, I have been researching on putting in too so I don’t deplete myself as that’s how it has been for yeas as a busy Mom with young children. Another suggestion is Huldah Clark’s book called which is free to download called, “The Cure for All Disease”. I have not bought a zapper yet due to expense but am looking into it & am sold on DE. Sorry so long but I had a lot to say after all the input from you. Thanks! Renee

My daughter had acne, but we have changed our diet to vegetarian, non-GMO, and completely organic. Also, we’ve eliminated all chemicals for personal use, as well as household. So, we make our own toothpaste, and deoderant. For my daughters acne, we are using diluted organic apple cider vinegar such as Bragg’s. Her acne has completely cleared up, but she uses this as her daily “astringent”. Good luck to you!

I ordered DE and just started taking it, I just drunk a tablespoon mixed in water. My expectation is to get rid of the parasites but I have found so many different benefits that I really expectto improve my health in general.

Hi Mellissa, Thanks for responding to me. Just an update: after 2 days of bad hives in the evening and the third day mild only facial hives, I got up the next morning and my skin looked great. I had been suffering from itchy scaly red spots around my nose and brows for years, and they went away. I’m using coconut oil for face cream and my pores look so much cleaner and smoother. Even my brother told me from across the room that my skin looked good, more color and fresher looking. All in all, this is great! Intestinal issues are mild and cleansing is continuing. I am continuing to take 2 tbsp per day.

My question is…I had started taking food grade hydrogen peroxide about the same time. Can I combine the two? It is hard to find time to take them each in the morning and evening without combining. Does that make a difference if I combine them or not? Thanks, Love the site and your blog!

Hi Sherry, I have never tried the peroxide and I’m really not qualified to say, but hopefully a google search on that question will turn up something! If you find out, please let us know for anyone else that was wondering! So happy to hear that you are having good results with the DE, thanks for updating us! I definitely experience better skin when I’m taking the DE – not sure if it’s the silica or if it’s reduced inflammation, but I notice a marked difference within just a few days when I stop taking it!

Since I haven’t seen it mentioned, 35% peroxide needs to be seriously diluted – and handled carefully as it can burn you. I keep some 3.5% in a spray bottle on my desk because I totally believe in the health benefits, but I just can’t keep reading about the 35% without saying something.

Thanks Kristy, You are absolutely right. No one should drink pure 35% food grade hydrogen peroxide without seriously diluting it first. Thats why I highly recommend reading the book The One Minute Cure. It has the protocal on how to dilute it and take it safely. I have several copies of the book that I give to my clients to read if they are interested in trying it.

First I love your site. I had purchased DE last year to try to help with my bad knees. It helped take away the ache and stiffness. I stopped taking it around christmas because of a trip to my mothers. WELL last month I picked up a stomach bug. Anything that I ate came out a few hours later as fluids. Gross I know. I suffered for a week and was becoming really drained physically. I FINALLY remembered that DE was excellent for Diarrhea and started taking it immeditately. One day and I was bad to normal.

i’ve been taking de for a year at least with good results. unlike many of the other commentors i’ve always been fortunate to have good health so the benefits from de haven’t been as dramatic as some report. generally i noticed stronger thicker nails and hair and i’m definatly much more regular; like clockwork in my bathroom habits, and it does seem to be a stool softener, at least for me. i also had some joint pain in my left knee which seems to have vanished. i’ve noticed too an increase in energy, not dramatic, and i do feel that i don’t get as easily fatigued as before. i also notice that while my co-workers get colds, i dont seem to catch them, but that may just be luck not de. i take 2 tblsp a day, and give a teaspoon a day to my dogs along with coconut oil. it does wonders for their coats and nails.

Mellissa, I’ve been taking DE for one week 1 tbs twice a day. Tonight I’ve suddenly got hives all over my upper body. I’ve been reading about the Herx reaction, and this must be it. I will continue on my course, because this means it’s working. My body has never had a reaction to anything as fast as this came on. I hope I don’t look like a zombie for too long, but I guess I’m excited that it is working!

I almost cried reading this article. I have been suffering from food intolerance for so many years,and it just seems to be getting worse! I’m down to veggies, but not all veggies and water. My homeopath just recommended diatomaceous earth and suggested I do a bit of research first. Yours is my first stop, and I’m sold. I will be headed to the health food store to pick some up. I miss food! Thank you so much for this!

I had a terrible food intolerance 15 years ago. It appeared suddenly but I believe I traced it down to a bad experience withprednisone.Basically couldn’t eat almost any food without terrible hives. Back then I discovered muscle testing as the only way to know what was safe, and I’ve been living with it daily for all these years. I also discovered diatomaceous earth after having c diffand it has been a blessing to me, although I never thought to try it for the food intolerances. One thing I can suggest for anyone who needs to find out what is safe and what is not, I wrote a book in 1999 because I felt I had discovered an amazing tool and wanted to share it. I describe exactly how to do this and how to use it for your family to control and determine safe amounts of anything.If you are interested you can find it on Amazon. Its called ” ask your body”. The author is Elizabeth Spicer, me. important to check the right author because someone else stole the title a few years later and printed a book about something else

I’m so glad I found this site! I came across de just recently I have pinworms I’m sure of it :( Reading some of the comments here has really encouraged me to keep taking it. I wondered if it was really working. i really have to drink more lol never been one to drink a lot horrible I know. I was wondering though if thisbwouldn’t work better simply being mixed with say juice, till now I have just been mixing 2tablespoons with my instant oatmealbsnd heating it I microwave, so my question is am I somehow diminishing the de? you know cause of the heat lol sorry if that’s a dumb question. please forgive my typos, my index finger really does kow how to spell its my tablets fault lol.

DE actions are mechanical, not chemical. It does absorb water, so it might make oatmeal thicker but it doesn’t change it (or anything, in any way). It’s not a chemical. It’s a substance. DE does not participate in any metabolic activity in the body.

Wow, I just read every comment. This is totally cool, and I’m glad to have found this site. I have just started DE today, along with a bad cold. I am looking forward to a healthier body! I have an aunt with serious Fibromyalgia and am curious to hear any results with DE. Thanks for all this great input.

We currently use MMS drops for candida and mold issues. It is a pain to not be able to have vitamin c within 4 hours of using. I have also developed an allergy to yeast, so have to be very careful as it is in so many things. I cannot tolerate anything fermented unless it is also distilled. DE sounds like a dream come true since it sounds like it helps with so many issues. Does anyone know if DE is as effective (or, hopefully, more) as the drops? Thanks!!

Over 3 years ago I suffered from having C-Diff which I had got from having a kidney stone and being on Cipro it went undiagnosed for over three months. I had it so bad in and out of the hospital and an excessive weight loss in a short period of time of over 40 pounds. Having to take over 8 rounds of antibiotics to try to kill it. From all the antibiotics I got candida from that my immune system was low and somehow I picked up a parasite. Which both of those was detected from a blood test. By now I am supplement poor and seeing a doctor. My food allergies are off the charts and I am down to only being able to eat seven food without big reactions..It’s crazy how I found out about DE on a health show I happened to be watching one day.. I have started it 3 days ago praying it helps..

Most of my food sensitivities are still gone after taking the DE for three months Jennifer! I have retained an allergy to Stevia, Chamomile and sea scallops but everything else I have no trouble with. I do have bad seasonal allergies still, but at least it doesn’t affect my eating anymore! If you haven’t tried the DE yet, it’s worth a shot. Adding probiotics and bone broth to help heal a leaky gut has also helped a lot of people, since leaky gut can cause an onset of crazy food allergies. I’m working on that myself right now to see if it helps my season allergies as well! Hope you figure out a solution that works for her!

I am certain now after a couple of weeks, that the DE is helping the Fibromyalgia and Food Allergies. I am taking one tablespoon daily and also taking coconut oil. I have been doing parasite cleanses and I am feeling so much better with better sleep and more energy and noticeably less pain and a lot less allergy symptoms. I had been sick all winter with various sinus related/allergy related stuff. I kept getting worse and worse…… I have hope and energy again. This is changing my life! Thank you for sharing Melissa!!

Hi there really interesting contents! Really happy I found this website. I have been taking DE 1 TBSP a day on and off for a month. The reason why on and off is because I am seeing blood in the poop so I am not sure what is causing it? Plus it is constipating me, but then I drink yogurt and plenty of liquids and that seems to solve the constipation problem. However, now I am taking only 1 TSP a day, because I can still see the blood in the poop, so as a precaution I thought if I diminish the dosage of DR I could continue taking it. I do have good faith in DE, but I have to say that the blood in the poop is making me doubting the benefits. Does anyone went though the process of seeing blood in the poop and having constipation and for how long?

I love your website, My husband and I have diabetes, he has 3 steints and takes medicine for that and we both take medicine for diabetes, can we use diatomaceous dirt? Should we take it first thing in the morning and wait a couple of hours before we take our medicine? Does anyone else have diabetes and takes diatomaceous dirt? Any advice will be welcomed. Thanks Jane

Hi Jane, I can’t speak about what DE does for Diabetes but I can speak about what 35% food grade Hydrogen Peroxide has done for 2 of my clients who had Diabetes. As well as 5 of my clients who had high blood pressure, acid reflux, and a lot of other things. My 2 clients who had Diabetes said that since they started taking the 35% food grade Hydrogen Peroxide that their neropathy in their legs or numbing, and tingling has stopped and has returned to normal including their blood sugar levels. You can learn about it at foodgrade-hydrogenperoxide.com and if you wish to learn the protocal for taking it there is a book called The One Minute Cure to Virtually all Diseases and also a book called The truth about food grade hydrogen peroxide. I hope that this helps. HERES TO YOUR HEALTH.

You said if I got any better scientific information on the subject to get back to you, and here’s what I got. If you search the internet, you get all kinds of conflicting information, so I’ve had to do what I’ve had to do so often in life, and that’s experiment.

After using DE multiple times a day, daily, for two weeks, during the first week, I noticed a general increase in strength and well being (as previously stated). During the second week I notice a steady decline, so I stopped taking it. I’m thinking that it indiscriminately scavenges very small substances, good and bad, and that after awhile, you start developing deficiencies in those good things, like micro nutrients.

I’ve stopped using it daily, and after another two weeks I’m back to being even better than before. So now I’m going to experiment with taking it intermittently. I’m starting with one heaping teaspoonful once every two weeks, although I suspect every week will be better.

My recommendation is that people use it initially, daily for one week. Then take it once a week after that. This is all subjective on my part, and I’m also not typical, each individual needs to take care, pay attention, and discover what course their own best results will come from.

I have long used DE for treatment of internal and external parasites on my pets. It’s kind of like a small act of revenge on the little blood sucking buggers (the parasites, I mean) – the DE slices into the parasites’ bodies and they bleed and/or dehydrate until they die. A little poetic justice.

Well Mellissa, I feel it’s only prudent these days for everyone to use DE, not only for the things it safeguards us from, but also for the protection from silicon deficiency, which I understand almost everyone should also be concerned about, especially if you’re aging.

I’ve suffered no ill effects from it’s use, however, I have noticed an improvement in well being and strength.

I started experimenting with fitness and nutrition when I was nineteen. It made such a remarkable difference in how much I was able to enjoy everything, that I’ve stuck with it my entire adult life. I try to stay on top of state of the art findings in both fields and incorporate them into my lifestyle so as to always be having the best life experience possible.

I also engage in a technique I developed which I call Power Meditation. It’s the foundation on which I build my understanding of how things work.

Thanks Dale, but I still don’t think that answers my question. If it’s the Rice Chex structure that traps things that are small enough to get lodged in it, I can’t see how it could differentiate or even need to between aerobic and anaerobic, or positive and negative charges in order to do what they say it does. Also the article you recommended doesn’t say that aerobic and anaerobic bacteria’s are designations of beneficial and harmful bacteria’s, or have anything to do with intestinal flora at all.

So Mellissa, the kinds of questions I ask, nobody usually knows the answers to, and I won’t hold it against you if you can’t answer mine. There’s probably been no research done on this (specifically).

Hi Mike, I saw your question earlier and meant to get back to it but I’ve been in keto menu plan fog and completely forgot. This question has been asked before and from way back I thought I remembered that it had to do with the negative and positive charge thing but didn’t have time to go find the source where I first read it. There isn’t a lot of scientific research on DE (unfortunately) because I think it’s so inexpensive that there is just no money in it for big companies. What I know is this – it worked for me when nothing else did, and when I feel the allergy symptoms coming back and I take it, I have almost instantaneous relief. I hadn’t taken it in months and started up again recently – 4 days later I had horrible cramps and nausea and (sorry to be graphic) passed about a 10 inch worm of some kind a couple of hours later – nothing with it – just the worm in the bowl. It was creepy and disgusting. That’s all I need to know that it works and to keep taking it. For somebody that requires scientific and not just anecdotal evidence I know it can be hard to justify. I’m not trying to sell the product – just letting people know what worked for me. It’s so inexpensive that it’s worth trying. And if people are concerned about beneficial bacteria populations, they can always supplement or eat more fermented foods to compensate. I guess it really depends on what your issues are and how desperate you are to find a solution. Sorry I don’t have anything more specific than that – all I have to offer on this is my own experience with it! But if you do find something concrete either way, PLEASE take a second to comment here and link to the source. I’d love to know one way or another if there is any science on the bacteria issue!!! Thanks!

Mellissa, just to be safe, I’ve already started separating the times of the day when I take probiotics and DE. I don’t really have any issues, I’m just looking to maximize on my quality of life experience, and try not to let any one thing interfere with the benefits of the other. I also don’t take garlic or apple cider vinegar anywhere near the time when I use probiotics (first thing in the morning), for the same reason. Marine Phytoplankton is also quite small, so I have concerns about that. Currently I’m waiting until after 3 PM before taking DE or the other things I’ve mentioned. So far, so good.

For those who are interested, I find it optimal to take probiotics on a completely empty stomach, then wait two hours before eating anything. I think they’re that important.

Did you start this regimen because of health problems Mike, or is it just to maintain optimum health overall? Sounds like you have it pretty well scheduled out! I wish I was that organized but I can barely remember to take my DE on an empty stomach in the morning!!!

Hi Melissa, Just finished reading your comments about the intestinal parasites you have been experiencing. Do you (being the gourmet you are) eat sushi/sashimi? Or any other raw proteins? These are infamous sources for nasty intestinal (and full body) infestations of parasites. So many westerners are eating these raw fish dishes nowadays and suffering from worms as a result. Most of these people are completely unaware of the source of their discomfort. I, for one, do not enjoy playing with fire and avoid dangerous foods like raw and undercooked fish and meat. Just a thought ;>)

I did used to eat a lot of Sushi when we lived in CT so it’s a possibility. We also have cats, and used to have dogs so you never know – it could have come from anywhere! I’m much more cautious about what I eat now, that’s for sure! :)

to Mike Gish, Yes it is related to positive and negative charges. If you read about negative ions (which are good) you will get the idea of how this works. Negative ions are good life bringing ions and positive ions are bad, degenerative ones. In your body it is the same thing, all bad things are positive charges like parasites and heavy metals and bad bacteria, viruses, etc. SO the DE literally attracts the bad things to it. The only challenge that people may have with this is if they are taking prescription drugs. Prescription drugs are so incredibly bad for people it should be no surprise that DE will also attract those!!

That doesn’t explain how the DE might differentiate between the two. It’s an inert substance. I think it’s more likely, because of it’s Rice Chex like design (see electron microscope pictures on Google), that it acts more like a screen, and indiscriminately filters out things that get trapped in that size mesh.

Hi Dale and thank you for your kind words and concern. Please don’t fret though as I now know how to avoid “Nasties” Things like this aren’t emotional though unfortunately they are chemical.

I did have a look at EFT many years ago but went the Faster EFT route as it included NLP something I was familiar with. I did the practitioners course and also self hypnosis. Whilst these will help in many areas if you have taken something your body can’t cope with then only an antidote will cure you.

AND this is why I am replying to-day. “Bicarbonate of Soda” I have never taken the marketed type settlers type products (Andrews in the UK) as I knew the chemicals they put in them would not do me any good at all. We did have some bi-carb in the cupboard though and I took some after a heart burn spell a few days ago. Immediately my mood lifted. So I have spent Christmas eating junk that I could not even look at before. OK I made a pig of myself but it was all in the name of science of course and I can’t believe how well I feel. Just a quarter of a tea spoon evening and night and that’s it.

I hope you are doing better by now. I do agree with you that things like Faster EFT have limitations, that one also needs vitamins, minerals, etc., or find the cause(s) of their food intolerances besides emotional triggers.

Having said that, I just found this video on youtube. The man was intolerant of almost everything, was near death, but was able to turn things completely around using a brain-retraining program (which I have not tried, nor can afford). Anyway, thought you and others might find this interesting:

Hi Folks. I have just got a big bag of D.E so the adventure begins. I have tried everything and have a box full of pills and potions that all surprisingly make me ill. My allergies started about 50 years ago with geraniums and cats (ginger are worst) which was all manageable until about 20 years ago when they kicked off big time. Started with Beer but the problem was not a next day hangover but 3 days later when the big black cloud would appear. After years I have found my main allergies to be Sulphites and Malt I can’t take vitamin C or Oranges and they go straight through me as does ascorbic acid. These are not only digestion but touch as well, I used a so called non-allergic shampoo but it made me very ill as it had loads of glucose in it (which is I believe a sulphite) Even a scented candle will make me unwell but the strangest one I have is Water. Any water boiled in a kettle or food cooked in a pan (Ali or SS) makes me very ill. My symtoms aren’t just stomach but the big black cloud over me, very agitated and yes often suicidal thoughts. I know when I have had something bad within a few hours as my left eye feels strange (like I have a hair in it) and the left side of my face feels tingly. We then get to feeling ill and over days the skin on my nose (mainly left side again) and forehead will go very dry and peel off (Is that a hystamine thing?) Thanks for listening, I will let you know how I get on

Hi Mart, your symptoms sound very frustrating and hard to deal with! I hope that you will find relief in taking the DE – please do keep us posted as I am very curious to know if it helps you or not. I really REALLY hope that it does!!!!

Hi everybody, I am kind of new to the DE. I am an EFT Practitioner and I don’t really have any health issues; and I think GOD for that everyday. But I do have a lot of clients that do have health issues as well as emotional issues. I am always looking for something natural to help them. I always try whatever I find on myself before I tell any of my clients about it to make sure that it doesn’t kill me. Recently I have been telling them about the 35% food grade Hydrogen Peroxide and have been getting great reports from my clients as well as family members. But a friend of mine told me about the DE and actually gave me some to try. But he didn’t know exactly what is the protocal for taking it. I have been researching it and everybody is talking about doing it differently. One of the sites that I saw said to take one tbl. spoon a day for 7 to 10 days and then follow that up with a Selenium Supplement and then possibly a heavy metal cleanse. Can somebody tell me where I can find out or what the protocal for the DE. is.

Mart I sure hope that this stuff truly helps you because it really breaks my heart to even here of someone even think of suicidal thoughts. Find a good EFT practitioner in your area to help you with the emotional issues that you are going through.

CAUTION: Since it’s primarily made of silica, then people with a silicone allergy/sensitivity should probably avoid it. I’ve heard horror stories from people who have no idea they have silicone sensitivity (often happens when someone is constantly exposed to it…dental adhesives, breast implants, etc. Children whose mother had breast implants are also at risk. Google it if you want to learn more about.

correction to my previous post: “Children whose mother had breast implants are also at risk” should read “Children whose mother had breast implants during pregnancy are also at a higher risk of developing this allergy”

P.S. Everyone should also google “silica powder inhalation” for those you who are using around your house or pet, or taking it orally everyday. If u use it in/around your bed, dust your pet with it as a flea treatment, or scoop it out of the bottle and place it in water, it can easily become airborne. Hence, inhalation. I’ve seen it with my own eyes. Try scooping it out and shine a bright flashlight at the bottle and cup and you’ll see what I mean. Use with caution.

Do you have any idea what the youngest age is you can give DE to? I have young children that I often worry about in regards to parasites. We have two dogs and so do my parents and I wonder if they sometimes catch things from them.

Hi Sheena, I don’t know how old your kids are; but you can go to earthworkshealth.com and look on the testimonials there. Several people are talking about giving it to there kids from ages 5 and up. But I would use my on best judgement on how much to give them. i hope this helps.

Hi everybody I am new to this site but I would like to tell you about something else that may help with your problems. It’s called 35% food grade Hydrogen Peroxide. I am an E.F.T. practitioner and I have always been into natural healings. The 35% food grade Hydrogen Peroxide has helped a lot of people that I have told about it with things like normalizing high blood pressure, diabetes, fibromalgia and a whole list of other things. There is a great book on it called The One Minute Cure to Virtually all Diseases by Madison Cavanaugh. Check it out for yourselves. Heres to your health. Sincerly Dale

Your welcome Mellissa. I have my 83 year old mother on it and she had high blood pressure she went to her doctor the other day for her blood work and her doctor was completely amazed by her bloodwork he said everything was fantastic. She is no longer having to take her blood pressure medicine.

No offense taken. Yes, I’m sure it is food grade, it’s from earthworks which is supplied by Perma-Guard.

It is actually not that uncommon a reaction. There are many people on various sites who have reported the same type of reaction. (I’ve read of several.) If you have parasites, they do not go down easily and anxiety, depression even, irritability, among physical reactions are not uncommon.

I get mine from earthworks too Lisa! I did have all kinds of weird symptoms when I started too, but since I was already having all the things you described before I started the DE, it actually helped me get rid of those. But it makes sense that everyone would react differently too. I hope you’re feeling better!

Lauren: I think it could be the DE. I had a reaction the first time I took it, only 1/2 tsp. A few hours later I had very bad anxiety, felt pressure in my lungs, headache, dizzy, weak legs. I also do A LOT of detox and have never really had a detox reaction except with this stuff. There is a part of me that wonders about the toxicity levels of it because of that.

Nonetheless, I continued with a lower dose, taking less more often throughout the day. Seemed to be okay. This morning, 2 weeks after starting it, had another weird reaction. Weird feeling in front part of my head, anxiety, weakness in legs.

I really really wish there was more research proving this was “safe”. I am taking it to get rid of parasites as herbs don’t seem to do it and I have noticed some nasty things being released with this stuff but I can’t help wonder about the toxicity.

One thing I noticed is that since taking it I have dark circles under my eyes and they are puffy…. I always think of kidneys when I see that but I haven’t had any pain in that area and as far as I know my kidneys are healthy. But that is weird.

Please don’t take offense to this question but are you absolutely SURE your were taking food grade DE and not the other stuff? I only ask because if it isn’t food grade it can make you REALLY sick! Otherwise I’m stumped – I’ve never heard of anyone having a reaction like yours from taking it but if I were you I’d avoid it from now on just to be safe!

Hi there, great post! I just started on DE for parasites. It’s been a handful of years of endless new food allergies and intolerances, chronic inflammation in the form of sudden development of asthma and nasal polyps, occasional joint and muscle pain, etc. I feel so hypersensitive. And like you, Melissa, I suspect a histamine intolerance as well as other food chemical intolerances like salycilates asI tend to be my most hypersensitive when chemicals from foods build up when I’m not careful. But none of that would be a problem if it weren’t for leaky gut. And a leading culprit in leaky gut is of course parasites.

DE seemed like the most safe option for me and my state of hypersensitivity. Oregano oil suddenly started giving me severe heart palpitations a few months ago, coconut oil suddenly started giving me diarrhea- so I’ve been afraid to mess around with new tinctures and treatments. All of my reading on DE sounded like there was a low incidence of side effects and most listed were detox related. I could handle that, I thought.

I’m on day 2 of 1/2 tsp with intentions of building up to 1 TBSP. A few hours after my morning dose, I got a sudden bout of heart palpitations and dizziness. It was short lasting, maybe 20 minutes, and it didn’t increase my respiration or anything, but it was uncomfortable. It doesn’t seem like I’m taking enough to be experiencing any kind of die-off. I know that palpitations themselves can be an indication of parasites, but usually when I’ve had them it’s been in response to specific foods and not hours after I’ve consumed something. Has this happened with anyone else?

I’ve thought, maybe the buggers are getting a little freaked out and are acting up. I hear they can be clever that way, synthesizing hormones for their own benefit of keeping their living environments comfortable.

Hum. Could it be fear? I’m about to start DE and have had digestive issues for a couple of years. After trying dozens of remedies and only getting worse or restricting my diet more than I’m prepared to accept, I personally experience anxiety around the whole topic. When I try something new, I know (even with meditation) there must be some residual stress of high hopes and past disappointments. Just a thought.

I definitely experience this too Kris – I’m terrified of trying anything new for fear that it will cause a reaction. Then I think it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy because my own anxiety causes me to start freaking out. It’s a vicious cycle.

Anything is possible Lauren! It could also be that the heart palpitations are caused by low blood sugar or lack of magnesium or potassium so make sure you are getting enough of that as well! And in addition it could be just anxiety which I occasionally have when I try something new in anticipation of having a reaction. I would be shocked if 1/2 tsp would do anything at all to you so it’s VERY unlikely that it’s causing your palpitations, BUT that being said, if you are taking it and continue to feel weird then you should stop. Keep me posted!

Thanks for this post. I just discovered your site and will check out more. My digestion started giving me trouble over two years ago. I’m truly hoping the DE (which I ordered today) helps to get me back on the yummy food train ;-)

I am on day 4 of starting DE. Tomorrow, I will start with 1 teaspoon for four days and up it from there. I’ve noticed some headache in the back of my head but are manageable. I’m hoping this will take care of my continued heartburn and diarrhea. I am a polio survivor and have aches and pains and hope that this will help with those.

I looked into this and can’t find anything scientific. Folks that sell it claim pathogens versus beneficial bacteria have different electrical charges, but I looked high-and-low and didn’t see anything to back up such a claim. Perhaps it does kill off some beneficial bacteria and that’s why so many folks experience constipation when the start taking it.

I usually pound mine all at once mixed into water and then chase it with tons MORE water. But I like this idea of putting it in the bottle so you don’t end up with that last mouthful of mud at the bottom! Thanks for sharing! :)

Hi…I also started DE about a week ago. I’m hoping it’ll help with all the arthritis pain I have in my knees. I don’t have any food intolerances(wish I did sometimes,lol).

Btw…the 2 DE websites I bought mine from say that you may not want to take before bed as it gives some people more energy. I take it when I get home from work(6:00am) and then again when I wake up(6:00pm). The morning dose is usually about 4 before I go to bed and so far I haven’t had any trouble sleeping.

I hope that the DE helps you! I read the same thing about people being unable to sleep when taking it at night – I have never experienced that even when I took it minutes before going to bed, but it may be different for everyone! I try to take it in the morning on an empty stomach whenever possible! Keep us posted on your progress!

My 3 years old son suffers from food allergies and eczema. Could I give him a bit of DE ? Is he he to young for DE treatment ? Should I rather combine DE with lotion or moisturizer and apply on his skin ?

I’m not a doctor obviously so I don’t feel comfortable giving advice about how to treat a child especially. However, I don’t think DE applied to the skin will have a positive effect on anyone. My son had eczema when he was really young, and cutting out gluten made a huge difference for him and then he eventually outgrew it – if he eats gluten now you might want to try cutting it out for two weeks and see if that helps. If you decide to try the DE on your son, I would start at 1/2 tsp per day and work up to 1 tsp. Just make sure he drinks lots of juice or water throughout the day so he doesn’t get bound up. It’s probably wise to consult your doctor first just to be sure!

Hi and thank you for this. I wanted to point out I have a bag of Perma D.E. with warnings on it not to inhale it or it may cause lung damage. I was excited to see your update from Larry at Earthworks, but perhaps that is just their brand of D.E. My bag of food grade D.E. recommends using dust masks and respirators. I hate to be the negative nancy. I just want to share before someone snorts D.E. thinking it will cure their sinuses (as it cures everything else), and end up with problems.

Just wanted to post another update. I’ve been on DE for almost 4 weeks. I can’t say that I’ve noticed anything so far, but also I haven’t had any further detox symptoms. I’ve been up to a heaping tablespoon once per day for about a week. I think in my case improvements from DE will show up over time. I’ll definitely keep it up.

I also wanted to mention that 6 days ago I started an eating plan designed by neurosurgeon Jack Kruse, MD (jackkruse.com) called the “leptin reset.” (There is LOTS on the Internet about this.) So far it’s been wonderful. I had recently finished a round of the hCG diet and as usual had been having trouble maintaining my weight (was back up 15 pounds in under six weeks – argh!). On the first day of the leptin reset, all my cravings were gone, my hunger was and is almost nil, and I lost one pound in the first five days. I’m feeling a bit more energetic and sleeping a somewhat better. I started it to just be able to maintain, and if that’s all i get from it, I’ll be very happy. It is, however, supposed to lead to lots of other health benefits, do we’ll see on that. In theory, at least, having leptin and insulin under control and in balance should lead to significant health benefits. Time will tell.

Hey Mellissa- You’re welcome. I will let you know how it goes. I weighed this morning and have lost a total of 1.8 pounds in the first week. I’m thrilled. It’s been so very frustrating not being able to maintain the 92 (total) pound weight loss i had with the hCG diet. Finding this is such a relief and is so very easy. One thing I’ve been eating that’s made it a little more fun is Shirataki (“Miracle”) noodles. A couple of nights ago I served them with pot roast to my husband and guest. We all loved them – they’re sort of a “free” comfort food. Hard to find locally though – the ones more commonly available have tofu in them, and I don’t eat any soy.

I have to say i saw another post on this stuff earlier last week and have done some research on it. I’m glad i found your blog post! In reading some of the comments, i feel like i am the same way. Constant bloating, afraid to eat things, horrible gas pains (tMI?). I have seen two different gastros, had 3 colonoscopies before the age of 23 and have struggled with food since. I don’t eat gluten, dairy and not most vegetables as they will kill me the day after! I am desperate to try ANYTHING because no one should have to live like this. I feel like i’ve tried everything else… digestive enzymes, lactaid when i don’t even eat dairy but things “made in a dairy facility”. you name it!! I get mine in the mail today! Very interested to try it! What were your side effects when you started?? just like a “flushing” type of feeling.. having to go to the bathroom a lot? thanks!

If anything Eiren it’s common to suffer constipation because people don’t drink nearly enough water while taking the DE. You must chase it with AT LEAST 8oz of water, preferably 16oz, and then be sure to drink LOTS of water throughout the day. It’s possible to have headaches, weird stomach sensations, and some other symptoms when you first start taking it. They shouldn’t be extreme though – it’s not harsh like taking some of the chemical detoxes and cleanses. I hope this works for you! I would start with 1 teaspoon the first two days, then 2 teaspoons for 2 days, then 1 tablespoon each morning. You can also start taking 1 Tbsp at night once you reach that point. Keep me posted!

For those of us with strong gag reflexes, is it possible to cap the DE powder just as I do for other herbal formulations? 2-3 capsules with water first thing in the morning sounds a lot more palatable to me. Anyone?

I don’t see why it wouldn’t work Susan – but if you dilute it in enough water or juice, it really doesn’t have a flavor or anything so I would at least see if you can stand it before going to all of the trouble of making the capsules!

DE update. I started taking DE on the 9/18, so I’m really just getting started. I ramped up pretty fast to a rounded tbsp per day, and earlier this week I experienced a pretty obvious Herx (detox/cleansing) reaction: fatigue, muscle aches, nausea/queasiness, and headache. That lasted for around 24 hours followed by around 12 hours (sorry TMI) of diarrhea. It wasn’t pleasant, but I did recognize the symptoms for what they were. I had also started taking a supplement called butyrate at the same time as DE.

I skipped one day of those supplements then resumed DE at 1 tsp per day along with butyrate, where I am now. I will probably add another teaspoon in a couple more days. Can’t say I’ve noticed any obvious benefits yet, though the “Herx” is a benefit in that it was evidence of detoxification. What’s interesting about this for me is that I’ve never experienced a Herx before in spite of having taken just about every imaginable detox supplement here and there over the last 20 years or so. This DE is apparently pretty powerful stuff. I’m excited to see more benefits as time goes by (especially ones that make me feel better ;-)

Just a note about butyrate: It’s a short chain fatty acid produced by gut bacteria when they break down dietary fiber (of course that would be if one actually has the probiotic gut bacteria that do that – I don’t think I do). Butyrate is the main energy source for cells that line the gut and is, when absorbed into the system, a powerfully helpful agent throughout the body. It’s also contained in pretty small amounts in butter. I find it interesting that I’ve noticed far less craving for fats (yum – butter!) since I started taking it.

I seem to have developed a kidney infection from taking too much DE at once. Maybe its just healing… but I too got the blood in urine, bladder infection symptoms, and now my sides hurt I think the infection moved up.

I’ve had quite a few bladder infections in my 68 years, most recently about 3 years ago after a fairly short round of antibiotics for a tooth infection. I also had many in my early 20s, and not nearly as many in recent years. I’ve known for a very long time that antibiotics are “iffy” for treating bladder infections. I’ve also been an avid alternative health researcher and consumer and have done nutrition consulting for over 15 years. In my experience, the most effective way to clear up a bladder infection is a substance called D-mannose, which is the active ingredient in cranberry juice. Cranberry juice can be helpful but is not recommended because you have to drink a lot of it (along with the gobs of sugar in it) to get enough D-mannose to be helpful.

D-mannose is an interesting substance. It doesn’t kill bacteria in the urinary tract but just sort of escorts them out. Apparently, the bacteria that have adhered to the tissue in the bladder (or anywhere in the urinary tract) are attracted to D-mannose and carried out when a person empties their bladder. In my experience as well as the experience of many people i know and many more I haven’t met, D-mannose is the most effective thing out there. I even used it to clear up a case of cystitis (chronic bladder inflammation).

All this said, I’m not a doctor. Please Google it for yourself. Check out the function of D-mannose, which is a form of sugar that isn’t used like “regular” sugar by the body (it isn’t converted to glucose). You can find many information articles as well as many, many user reviews (check Amazon.com and iHerb.com). What worked best for me was taking 1 teaspoon 3 times per day (depending on severity – some people do well with capsules). i recommend NOW brand which can usually be found at local health food stores. My other recommendation would be to limit dietary sugar and processed foods, in general, as much as possible. But then, since you’re here, maybe you’re already doing that.

Thinking a little more about this, diatomaceous earth can cause a Herxhermer reaction from toxins being released (it did for me), which could conceivably lead to bladder irritation.

Thanks so much for weighing in with that very informative comment, Dana – I had never heard of D-mannonse, though I took cranberry extract in the past for bladder infections which probably contained it. I’ll know what to reach for next time I get one (which hopefully won’t be for a long time! ha ha!)

You’re welcome Mellissa. It’s fun to see how one comment can bring on so many others. And yes, cranberry extract products such as CranActin do contain D-mannose as their active ingredient. I also keep some on hand just in case.

I really like D Mann also. IT helps anytime I feel like I am getting a uti. Symtoms always go away. I have been taking DE for 11 days. I still have aches in my back, but the bloating has lessened. I do find the gas is a little “yuck”.. I don’t ever really have gas anymore since eliminating processed foods, but boy do I have it now.

I used to get a lot of bladder infections, haven’t had one for years, but I definitely felt some ache in my kidneys when I would up my DE dose – when I first noticed it, I looked around, found a few other people reporting something similar, not too many, but that is when I backed my dose down. I had gone from about 1 TBSP once a day, to 2 TBSP, twice a day. I had great parasite results, but when I felt the pressure in my kidneys, I backed down to 2 TBSP once a day. Then at the next new moon, I went back up to twice a day, did it for about a week, again had good results, but started to feel the ache in my kidneys, so dropped back down to once a day. I might have done that cycle one more time, and had no extreme parasite expulsion, so after a week went back down to the once a day – I don’t think I had the kidney ache before I did that, but I would just back down the dose as soon as you feel anything in that area. I think I had blood in my urine one day, on the first round, that helped me decide to back down. I would back down or stop, and if symptoms don’t subside, get to the dr soon. I would still start back up again with DE after you get straightened out, but using caution, and backing down at slightest irritation in kidneys.

I wonder if it’s an infection at all then, or just the added strain of taking the large amounts of DE. Did you increase your water exponentially when you increased your DE? I try to drink buckets of water when I’m taking a lot of it but I don’t know if that would have an effect on kidneys at all. Going to have to research this further! Thanks for the comment and sharing your own experiences with it!

I tried to remember to keep up my water intake, but I would not say I increased exponentially. Oh, and for bladder infections, I have to add my vote for D Mannose – it helped more than anything else I have ever used, and as I was tapering off on my run of infections, I used it whenever I felt any kind of twinge that one was developing, and it worked. I still keep it on hand, and have recommended it to many friends.

I have taken a parasite cleanse twice a year for at least a decade. But recently the bloating and gurgling in my stomach, the fatigue, the constipation and the extreme itching everywhere indicated that things had gotten out of control. I had used DE before and found that I passed worms while using it on it’s own. But, I decided to go one step further and create my own parasite cleanse. I began taking DE twice daily, along with an herbal parasite tincture and fulvic acid. Also, coffee enemas to help flush the worms out. What I learned is this: If you ever see 2 or 3 worms in the toilet, you could actually have 200 or 300! I passed worms for 60 days! At first they came out whole and long or slimy. Near the end, they came out with their skin shredded. Finally they came out as nothing but chaff. My stomach is flat again. My nails are crazy strong. My hair is getting thicker. And amazingly – and I don’t know if this is directly related to the DE or just my body getting in balance, but my low thyroid seems to be working on it’s own for the first time in years. I haven’t yet ventured into testing my allergies. But this stuff is great.

Hi, I have been taking D.E. for about two weeks. I take a heaping teaspoon and I feel wonderful during the day. I have more energy and less bloating and I don’t feel so full after a meal like I usually do. I sleep better, I also notice my hair getting shiny and longer. My completion looks better, and less acne. It also cleaned my system out, well that’s what I feel like. It also raised energy through the roof. I also use to have bedbugs and someone told me about this product, and I researched it, and found all the amazing facts about D.E. so I decided to use it for many reasons. After I noticed I had bedbugs, I had to get rid of many things, including furniture and they were so hard to get rid of, nothing was working until I found out about this D.E. and let me tell you how quickly there was I was bedbug free. I was so amazed with this product. It’s a God send! It also lowered my Mom’s blood pressure, which it is amazing! I’m trying to get my family and friends to take D.E. too! Thank you God for this!!

I’ve been on DE for awhile and I said I’d update my reactions. So here goes. My body reacts to food allergies in two ways. One is immediate and the other manifests over 3 days.

My immediate reaction to food causes hives and the 3 day causes muscle pain. I believe the diatomaceous earth helps with the immediate food allergies. It has decreased my hive reaction. Dairy caused hives and now I can eat dairy (thank the universe!). However I still get hives from other things so I’m still trying to figure it all out. This is my bottom line. DE is worth exploring. My nails are amazing (nails are a window into your health) and I 100% know it defeated my parasite infection.

DE is a worthwhile product. Try it and comment here so we can learn from each other’s experiences.

Thanks for sharing your experience with this. Reading posts on this blog has been very helpful. I just started DE yesterday (1 tsp will work up to a tbsp or 2 twice per day). I had taken some in the late 1990s for a while, though I don’t remember how much or for how long and I don’t recall having any particular results. I’m pretty sure I didn’t take lots back then though.

At this point I have many food sensitivities, and I’m fairly certain I have histamine intolerance. I’ve been taking the enzyme diamine oxydase, and I’m not sure if that’s helping or not. If DE could help that it would be great, because the enzyme supplement is expensive.

I also just found out that I have some genetic polymorphisms that affect methylation (detoxification and lots of other important stuff). I’m working on understanding all of it – it’s a rather new area of research that is proving helpful for people with difficult health challenges. I’ve had chronic fatigue for a couple of decades, and this stuff is shedding some light on why. I got genetic testing done through 23andme.com, and my current challenge is finding a doc that knows enough about it to be helpful. In the meantime I’m doing my own research and participating in a Yahoo Group on the subject (MTHFRdiscussions). Anyone interested in this can Google MTHFR for lots of info.

Welcome Dana, please keep us posted on how you’re doing! When I was researching histamine intolerance I also found that B6, B12, Vitamin C and Magnesium were important for methylation and other issues related to intolerance, so I have been supplementing with those as well. It wasn’t until I took the DE though that my intolerances finally went away. I do still have some histamine issues during peak allergy season (just went through a couple of bad weeks with ragweed) but as long as I’m diligent with DE and supplements it never turned into the full blown food intolerances that I had in the spring. I hope that the DE will help you as well – I’ll be looking forward to hearing about your results!!!

Hi Pallavi, I do not have Lupus but I have an unnamed autoimmune issue. My doctors initially thought I had lupus but then decided it was something else. Though they don’t know what it is. I experienced the lupus rash on my face (which I was able to control through eating lacto fermented sauerkraut), have chronic hives, muscle issues and other things. I started slow with 1/2 tsp a day and within 2 weeks worked my way up to 1.5-2 tablespoons once a day. I have been taking the high dosage for almost 2 months. I have not noticed any side effects by taking the DE. I am very happy with the results. However, I am on a strict diet. I make everything that I eat (no processed foods what-so-ever) and do not eat any anti-inflammatory foods: no sugar, corn, wheat or soy. I avoided diary for 4 months but have recently added it back in. I also take bovine colostrum which helps repair the intestines. I would recommend you read: Autoimmune. The Cause and The Cure by Annesse Brockley. I’m not sure if her theory on the cause is correct but I can personally attest that her cure help. A lot. She had lupus in the 90s when no one even knew what it was and she helped herself get better. I have incorporated everything she did into my lifestyle and have dramatically decreased my symptoms. I am almost normal again. Even thought the book is $25 (I think she self publishes it) it’s worth it. Good luck!

Thanks so much for your response Margo. It gives me confidence knowing that DE worked for you with no side effects. I plan to start soon and will definitely read the book you suggest. Thanks again for your response !!

Manuel – I would just add to Margo’s really interesting post that if I had Lupus and was contemplating taking DE, I would start really slowly. I have CFS and ramped up my amount pretty quickly. I ended up with a detox “Herx” reaction with flu-like symptoms. With an autoimmune disease, it’s probably a good idea to not tax your immune system too much more. I’m only taking 1 level teaspoon per day right now, but if I had Lupus, I’d probably start with 1/2 teaspoon and increase pretty slowly. Just my 2 cents, though – I’m not a doctor.

I think a key for each one of us is improving gut health. Some wise person once said that death begins in the colon (and by implication – health begins in the colon). Good luck.

I noticed that within a couple of weeks of taking it too! Also that I had tons of new hair growth, and months later if I tugged a piece out I could visibly see that the shaft was thicker in the newest inch or two since I had started taking the DE! It really does work – so amazing!!!

Hi, Thank you for this website. I really enjoyed reading every bit of it. I started DE 11 days ago, I have been experiencing a lot of bloating, back pain, slight constipation and muscle aches. I drink a lot of water as suggested so I don’t think that is the problem. Can you help me understand what is going on with me. I don’t want to stop the DE as I am determined to experience the many benefits I read about. Thanks Sharon

Hi Sharon, it sounds like you are detoxing which is a good thing! If you are drinking lots of water then things should regulate with your constipation – when in doubt though, drink more water! Unless you have some really adverse symptoms I would stick with it and the detox symptoms should start to subside over time. I had bloating and crazy strange pains in my abdomen for the first two weeks and so did my husband! If you have parasites (and most of us do) they don’t go quietly! And if you have candida yeast issues, the die off releases toxins that can cause some of the symptoms you mentioned. Stay the course if possible, but stop (or cut back) if you truly feel nervous or uncomfortable like something is really wrong.

I took 1 teaspoon of DE this morning, and late this afternoon I could hardly walk. I should state that I’ve been very ill for years with ME/CFS, and use a wheelchair most of the time, but do walk out of the building when I get a ride to the grocery store, and could barely walk, or now back at home, can barely stand.

I guess this could be a release of toxins, but at the same time, I don’t understand how this product is supposed to help with joint health if it binds with toxins?

I have a serious question. Last week, I had an anaphylaxic reaction to peppers, and I’ve been eating peppers no problem for years. Researching the net, it looks bad. I went in for allergy testing and tested allergic to almost everything they checked, including very type of pollen they tested me for. They are blaming my sudden, severe allergy on my previously easy-to-handle pollen allergy. Someone suggested this to me. Did this actually cure you of real food allergies, or just intolerances? I’m desperate, as I’ve been told to eat nothing but meat, eggs, milk, and grains–and I LOVE fruits and veggies and have 4 small children I want to raise eating right.

Hi Shanna, I am so sorry for what you are going through! Your situation sounds similar to mine and I know how terrifying it is! My allergies appear to be related to Oral Allergy Syndrome which is tied to specific pollens and proteins in foods. But for me, my body was so overloaded that I became allergic to everything, even water. Though I was prescribed an epi-pen, I didn’t get to a point that I needed to use it (yet), though I was close a few times. I’m not sure that the DE cured me per se, but it helped my body handle the histamines so that I could eat again. I’m not sure what will happen next spring when the pollen I’m most allergic to is out again. Hopefully the DE will keep me out of the hospital, even if I have to be extra careful of what I eat. If your issues are also pollen related, when whatever fall pollen you are allergic to dissipates your food allergies may as well. (though I wouldn’t test it unless you are in the presence of a medical professional just in case!) When you have an overload of histamines in your body, you can show allergic to everything on their tests, even when you aren’t. The DE swept histamines out of my body which kept me from reacting. When I stopped taking it during pollen season, after a couple of days my symptoms would come back as the histamines built up in my system. I would start taking DE again and they would dissipate. In the past couple of weeks when the ragweed started, I could feel my allergies returning. I started the DE again and I haven’t had any food reactions, though I have felt on the verge a few times before I took it. So, I can’t say for a certainty that the DE will help you, but I am 100% positive that it is key for me, so it’s worth a try, right? You may also want to supplement with Magnesium, B-12 and vitamin C if you aren’t already, because those help your body metabolize histamines so they don’t build up and cause reactions as well. Your liver is key in this process (methylation), so you may want to eliminate alcohol and any other things that could be taxing your liver as well. Other things that can cause you to react are heavy metal poisoning (especially mercury), parasites, and a build up of candida yeast – DE also addresses these things over time, so it may have been a factor for me – and possibly you. I hope this is helpful, please do keep us posted on your progress, especially if you decide to try the DE.

Thank you! I do want to try it. I live in a tiny country in Eastern Europe, so we’re looking for it now, we do have a lead. One thing I do know: God is in control, He loves me, and He will give me the grace to deal with this one way or another. Thank you for boosting my hope level with your reply! It’s good to know I’m not the only one dealing with this, and I do hope & pray I will respond as well as you have to it.

I take up to 12000mg of MSM a day for allergies (I’m allergic to just about every type of pollen, dust, smoke, mold, and MSG). I was taking 2-3 24 hr otc antihistamines per day and still having asthma-like symptoms from my allergies before discovering MSM. I haven’t taken an otc antihistamine since the very first dose of MSM I took.

Good luck, and keep at it! I remembered that the reason I backed my dose back down the first few times was that after the ‘morning and evening’ routine for a while, I started feeling a little pressure or mild discomfort, or something, in my kidney area. After two days of that, I would reduce to once a day, and was fine again. I think that happened twice, and now that am just in a routine, if I occasionally add a second dose, I just do it for a week, then drop it. I was thinking that I had no real parasite symptoms, but I do get some seasonal allergies, and while I still have them, they are not as bad. But the bigger one was that I was having a rough skin year, I had had impetigo in my nose, and was getting weird itchy, scaly breakouts behind my ears, and then noticed a kind of buildup on my scalp. I have had some of that for years, off and on, but the patches behind the ears were new. I had looked into essential oils, I had started getting them from Native American Nutritionals, and I read about some guy who had developed a blend that worked for his wife, so I had bought those oils and made my own, which helped a lot, but it was like whack a mole, I had to keep it up. But, when I went through the DE cycle, after I saw the first batch of parasites, all of that went away, so i suspect it was related.

I did not have noticeable critter activity until after I had been taking about a TBSP a day for a month, then decided to almost double my dose, to 2 heaping scoops, so probably 1.5-2 TBSP, and started taking that larger dose twice a day, morning and evening. I did that for a few weeks, backed down to once a day for a few weeks, then went back up to twice a day for another week or two – I was not seeing any evidence of worms any more after that, so I am now on a permanent maintenance dose of 2 scoops every morning, often with a dose of bitters stirred in.

Hi Mary Beth Could you tell me how long it took for your parasite symptoms to go away? I have chronic hives caused by a roundworm infection. I have been taking 1.5 -2 tablespoons for about a month and have noticed less stomach cramping recently. Did you cut sugar and carbs out of your diet while dealing with this? Thanks! Margo

After a month on a single daily dose, I doubled the dose, and started doing it twice a day, and after just a few days of that, I saw some pretty unsettling things, including a whole live worm, fairly large, who looked at me before he turned and swam down the hole in the toilet bowl. I had not actually thought I had parasites, was just trying DE as another ‘good thing’, because of reported benefits on a lot of fronts. The first few times I added the second dose (with a few weeks off in between, I was actually loosely tracking to the new moon, since some worms are active then, and I saw that suggested somewhere), I had a few days of expulsions, then it would quiet down, and I would go back to single dose a day. I did not change my diet, but have been generally low sugar and lowish carb, only grains are occasional rice and a little organic corn, few processed foods.

I would love to know if anyone has had success with eliminating the delayed kind of food intolerance via DE? I’m talking about symptoms that come one 1 – 4 days later. In my case it has been sinusy migraines from gluten, corn flour, dairy. I have been taking 1 tablespoon DE in juice for a month but doesn’t look like these allergies have cleared yet. I still hold hope! By the way TONS of sneezing fits daily when I starting detoxing with DE.

Hi Liz. I am like you. I get headaches and muscle pain 1-3 days after exposure. I have been taking DE for about a month. I am still reacting but and hopeful it will change. I will update this if I notice a difference.

Hi Melissa, Thanks for the input! I have increased to 1 Tablespoon twice a day. So far I am ok. I am certainly feeling a little “toxic” but have been managing it with epsom baths, infrared sweating and detox tea. I will let you know how I am doing in a week. :-)

Hi Melissa, Thanks for your reply! Sadly, carrots give me hives too :-(. Thanks for the timeline. I believe you were on it for about 4 months? Were you taking the full dosage of 1 Tblsp, the entire time? I started it a few days ago. I am up to 3/4 tsp, twice a day but I am considering taking the dosage down to once a day. I am amazed at how quickly you responded and am hopeful for a similar story. I was expected to have a herxheimer reaction but did not, which seems promising. I’ll let you know what happens. Fingers crossed! I miss food – haha.

I was on it for around 5 months, and in the first three months I took a heaping Tablespoon every morning on an empty stomach. In the last 2 months I was taking a heaping tablespoon both in the morning and at night. 3/4 tsp twice a day isn’t much, I’d definitely increase it ASAP to get results. I’m not surprised that you haven’t had an H reaction yet by taking so little. As long as you are drinking a ton of water you shouldn’t have any issues by increasing to at least a teaspoon twice a day – and getting to 1 Tbsp as soon as you can stand it. Please do keep me posted – I’m very curious to see if it helps you like it helped me with the reactions! I hope so!!!! :)

Hi Melissa, I am at the point where I can barely eat anything due to food intolerance. (No sugar, dairy, wheat, gluten, corn, coffee, chocolate or black pepper) I am in my 6th month of a parasite cleans (roundworms – lovely) and am going to add DE today. May I ask you what you experienced from your food reactions? Did you have your reactions within 30 minutes of being exposed or within 3 days? I have chronic hives regardless (which get worse with trigger foods) and before I eliminated my food intolerances I was a mess. Chronic pain, headaches, muscles spasm – you name it. I am intolerant of corn so I was constantly exposed… Thanks for posting this!

My issues were almost immediate Margo, I would have a reaction sometimes instantly and sometimes it wouldn’t hit for an hour. Usually I could tell right away if I was going to have a problem though. I haven’t taken the DE in almost a month, and the last few days I have been feeling the symptoms returning so I’m taking it again. I hope that it helps you too! Also, eating raw carrots on an empty stomach is supposed to be anti-parasitic too. I found that out by accident when I went through a point where raw carrots were all I could eat without reacting! So you might try that as well. I still occasionally eat a few for breakfast and follow it up a few hours later with “real food.”

Keep me posted, I’ll be curious as to whether the DE helps you or not! Hoping so! :)

I’ve done plenty of research, posted links, and also my own personal experiences with DE which have been nothing short of amazing. If that’s not enough for you, and you are really interested in learning more about DE, then I suggest you Google it. I’m not interested in arguing the merits of DE consumption with you or anyone else – I’m simply letting people know what worked for me.

I am new to DE. First day I was constipated then the third day I am getting bring and crawling sensations all over my body with itching. I took a docilax which helped and I think I saw some stuff but not sure. This itchy skin and biting and creator creaky sensation is weird. Is this part of something? I’m freaking out just alittle. Please help. Thank you.

hi! I just had to chuckle when I saw the posts that say there is no flavor. I started taking DE yesterday and for me, it’s a grin-and-bear-it situation – I’ll keep taking it just as a general health booster (I don’t really have any food issues), but wow … the taste! Blech!! I will try the mint oil with water. Haven’t tried it in juice or yogurt yet. Great info – thank you!!

I have diverticulitis and irritable bowel, and nervous anxiety, creating horrible bouts of painful diarrhea and equally painful constipation. I am a bit overweight, a bit high in the triglycerides etc. A friend told me about D.E. and to take a tablespoon daily; I tried that for 2 days and must have had 30 huge and profoundly smelly b.m.s, starting early in the dawn and lasting all day. It left me exhausted, sore, and frightened. I highly doubt I have worms; I am uncertain if I should stay on D.E. as the resulting poops are something out of a movie, I have to tell you.

Hey Barbara! I know it can be disturbing and uncomfortable when this happens, but let me ask you this: Would you rather all that creepy stuff stay inside of you? I had so many strange colors and textures (and weird pains and abdominal sensations!) that first week or two – but I felt a MILLION times better once it had passed. Hang in there and see it through if you can stand it – you’ll be so glad you did!!!

I have been using DE on my goats and decided to try it for myself. I am anemic and hypothyroid. I was told hookworms cause it. I did wormers and colon cleanses and still no luck. I have been taking DE for 4 days and day 2 I started coughing up phlegm. Today as day 4 I noticed something worse and unknown in the restroom. I am kind of freaked out but relieved that it is cleaning my system. I had to take pics (gross I know) but I have to ask my doctor if he can say what it is. So far my energy is a little more than normal and I feel a bit better. Hope the progress continues!

Congrats! DE is amazing stuff! And I love that it works so well without the side effects of all of those other herbal and chemical remedies that don’t even work for parasites all the time. I hope you continue to see improvement! Keep me posted, I LOVE hearing DE success stories!!!! If you google parasites and images you can find lots of info – you might be able to find something you can recognize from your photos if your doctor doesn’t know what it is!

Thanks for your reply! I just got back from my trip the day before yesterday. Unfortunately, my sensitivities still exist, but I believe (and feel) that parasites are a big part of my problem. And, surprisingly, I actually feel better now than I did before I left!

I took as much DE as I could with me while I traveled, but I’ve significantly upped my intake since I returned, and I’m finally starting to see evidence that I’m eliminating parasites. I am 100% convinced that kicking out the parasites will be a major (and perhaps the most important) part of my healing. While my food sensitivities came on rather quickly, looking back over my health history, I believe I’ve been experiencing mild symptoms for years, and thus I think it will take me some time to heal.

Thank you for sharing that you still take DE to keep your symptoms at bay–I appreciate your honesty. BTW, when I took large amounts of DE a number of years ago, it took about 8-9 months of taking ~2 tablespoons daily before I stopped seeing parasites being flushed from my body. I’m guessing there were still plenty of parasites (and who knows what else) to be flushed, and I’m planning on continuing to take large amounts for at least a year, and smaller amounts for the rest of my life.

I’ve very recently had an experience very similar to yours–sudden onset of severe food intolerance. I had some DE sitting around from years ago, and by instinct took some yesterday. I think I definitely experienced some detox symptoms. Just took a big scoop (maybe 2TB?) today, and it immediately calmed down a headache, and already has improved elimination–helpful for any health problem. I’m going to try to do a week of “safe” foods along with the DE, and then test–I’m going across the country to visit family in less than two weeks, and it would be wonderful to not have to be that annoying relative who can only eat iceberg lettuce.

But what I really want to say is: Thank you for giving me hope for an end to this madness! Even if I see gradual improvement, I will be thrilled. I do not want to live on a small handful of bland foods for the rest of my life!

I really hope that this helps you! I still take the DE and when I forget for a few days my symptoms start to return. I have a theory that it sweeps extra histamines out of your body which keeps me from having any allergic reactions to whatever I eat or drink. Then if I don’t take it they build up again. But I haven’t found any research that proves it, I just know that it works for me when I take it, and when I stop I start to go downhill again. Please let me know how this works for you – I’m dying to know and really really hoping that this ends up helping you like it did me!!! XO

I have been taking DE for a couple of weeks now off and on due to the headaches I get! I can’t say that I have gotten dramatic results so far but I do see dead parasites in my stools, not many tho. I’ve seen a video of what these parasites look like living in our intestinal tract, that gave me the wee-bee-gee-bees!! YIKES! Now whenever I feel “movement” in my belly, I freak out thinking its them! Hahaha! :) I am feeling like I have to cough some. Yeah, I suppose I feel kinda flu-like. Will keep you updated on my progress :)

I originally bought DE for a flea problem last summer. After reading product reviews on a website, I tried it for myself. Nada. So it’s just been sitting.

After stumbling on this site, I decided to try again. This time I’m doing a very heaping teaspoon, probably closer to a tablespoon, in about 4 oz water first thing in the morning. I started in early March. The first day I had the gurgling and pressure in my abdomen that others have mentioned. Then the constipation. But the blood in my urine (one or two drops every day) is freaking me out. Has anyone else experienced this? It started about the third day. After a week, I stopped the DE, but the drops are still happening.

First of all do make sure you are using food grade DE because the pool grade is poison! Yes, I did experience that, it happened the first week I took it, I was taking 1 TBSP a day and I had it happen for a couple of days, it was a just a small amount but it was similar to very light period bleeding, the thing is I don’t have a uterus anymore, but I do have a cervix. I decided to not freak out about it and to see what happens, I continued to take the DE and figured it was doing some house cleaning in my bladder or something since I have had problems with bladder infections for years, I figured it needed some detoxing and that is what the DE must have been doing. As I said, it went away after a couple of days to my relief.

I have been taking the DE for 3, close to 4 weeks now am noticing little things that are changing for the good. Today I will be upping my dose to 2 TBSP to see if anything new takes place. I did have quite a bit of detox from just 1 TBSP but am past that, it will be interesting to see if I have more detox again at 2 TBSP a day.

Now that you mention it Stephanie, I also had some light bleeding the first 8 – 10 days! It freaked me out too at first, but there was no pain and I just chalked it up to detox and it went away. I’m about to increase my dose to a heaping tablespoon in the morning AND at night and see if I have a new onset of detox symptoms as well! Keep us posted if you see any major changes from increasing your dose too!

I feel better hearing that others have experienced this. The other symptoms I noticed (everything has been mild) have all been cited by others. I’m in perimenopause, so never know what to expect from day to day, but after the second day of this I decided it wasn’t menstrual.

Any time you are concerned about a new symptom you should see your doctor Kathi. Especially if it persists long after you stopped taking the DE. I did have some spotting in my first two weeks of taking it as well. Your body gets into clean out mode and that can happen. But just to be sure, you should contact your doctor about it if you’re concerned!

So sorry to hear that! Were you able to find out what it was and if it was related to the DE? How much were you taking at the time? Any info you can share may help others that are reading through these comments and wondering if they should try it! Thanks so much and i hope you’re feeling better!!

I am curious about DE, but am a little concerned at the same time. My gut is not healthy. I have leaky gut. I imagine that sending thousands of tiny razor blades through my already battered digestive tract would just make it worse. Any resource suggestions for finding an answer?

Hi Katie, Food grade DE is so fine that it couldn’t possibly do damage to your digestive tract or any other part of you. Try reading the through the links I posted on the health benefits and you’ll get more information on how it works and also find many testimonials of people who had great relief from leaky gut by using DE because it removes yeast, parasites and toxins that are causing the leaky gut to begin with. You can also try the Whole 30 eating plan which has helped a lot of people, including myself with digestive issues.

Hi! I found this post from a mention on a forum, and I started DE about 6 weeks ago, because of the many benefits I had read. I am taking it first thing in the morning, I started out with 1 scoop (2 tsp-1TBSP) dissolved in about 8 oz water, followed by coffee. Did that for a month, nothing specific noticed. I then upped to 2 scoops, and on the day I did that, I had had a normal BM, went about my routine, showered for work, then stopped to pee, and expelled a strange blob from the rear. From pics, it looks like it was intestinal flukes. This has happened 3 more times, every couple of days, now seems to be worms, and today one was still moving in the bowl. This is a little disconcerting, but it is also a huge relief to be getting rid of these, I had no idea I had parasites, although I have had a variety of health issues crop up over the last few years, food sensitivities among them. I am currently having some die-off symptoms (headache and tired), but I am going to keep on until this is over, and stay on this stuff the rest of my life! Mary Beth in MN

Thanks for sharing your experience with us Mary Beth! That IS disconcerting but great that you’re seeing results! I’m going to up my dose this week by double to see if I have any new detox symptoms/parasites too! Keep us posted and hang in there!

I am still taking DE, and the few times I stopped for a while, I missed it. I just feel all around better taking it, and my system is more regular. I don’t see any more parasites, what I reported here was about the worst of it, but it just makes everything better. I take probably a TBSP most days of the week, in the morning, mixed with my gelatin and mag powder.

My husband and I recently purchased a huge bag of DE from Earthworks about a month and a half ago. He has been taking it nearly everyday. I’ve definitely noticed more energy in him, but he hasn’t spoken much else about it. (He is 27, immune to everything, healthy as an ox kind of guy) He really started taking it due to it’s potential to create healthy hair. Since he’s getting closer to 30, he’s been noticing his hair thinning. I haven’t, to be honest but he is obsessive.

Anyway, I read epic reviews about DE all the TIME! Yet, I am still chicken to take it. “Holland, it’s just earth dirt. It’s good dirt. Try it. It won’t kill you.” I don’t know why I can’t get myself to drink it! Mostly, I am paranoid I’ll have a reaction to it, but I have never heard of this ever happening. (fyi, I’m 22, not a super-human-imune-to-everything like my husband, worrywart, super health nut freak)

Ps: My husbands side of the family (nearly all of them) are taking DE everyday. My brother in laws lady friend said that it made her constipated for a day or two, then she was going to the bathroom like crazy. In a good way, I guess. Did this happen to you?

This is super interesting. You know how bad my ibs is and I often wonder what the meds do to my system. I wonder if this would help. I’m a gagger though so I wonder if I could even drink it. This is intriguing woman. I’m all curious about it now and need to do more reading. Glad you are doing better.

I just got mine in the mail yesterday. Can’t wait to start taking it tonight! I have arthritis / tendonitis in my arm and really want to get off the medications for this. I also have reflux and it seems to be getting worse so I am hoping this will help. Also, sinus issues, other joint issues, etc. Thanks everyone for posting the goods things it is doing for you. I hope I have some good results also.

Hi Melissa, My 3kg package of DE arrived today and I couldn’t be more excited if it was pure cocaine – which I’m pretty sure is what the postie thought it probably was! I keep expecting the police to arrive! Anyway, can’t wait to try it and keen to let you know how it goes. Just want to say thank you for bringing it to my attention – I had never heard of it before your post. So, thanks. :)

I am on day 4 of taking DE, only day 3 of taking 1 TBSP of it though ( the first day I took 1 tsp thinking to go slow, but I decided what the heck and did a full Tbsp the next day and since then). I am having some pretty heavy detox with stuffed up and draining sinuses and coughing up phlem. My lungs feel lighter though, so I think good things are definitely happening. I have scalp issues and my scalp has been very tingly and itchy too lately, but I noticed the “scabs” are not building up as quickly on my scalp so I think good things are happening there too. I have Hashimotos disease and I do not have celiac disease but I had problems with gluten for a long time. I also have elevated liver enzymes and chronic constipation. I suspect I probably have parasites and have had them for a long time, so I am looking forward to eliminating them if I do have them. My husband, younger son and my daughter are all taking it, they have not had any noticeable detox symptoms at all, my younger son is feeling real good, so I’m glad about that. They are taking 2 tsps a day at this point, I will be giving them a full Tbsp tomorrow.

Oh, my nose is running like crazy today too :) I expect this since I have had sinus issues for many years, so I suspect the DE is working on that area. I will keep you tuned in on my progress.

I have been eating gluten lately to test the waters on that, I can’t say if I am doing better in that area or not, but we shall see. I definitely need to go back to low carb though, I felt better eating that way.

Steph

Btw, I just wanted to let you know, I tried to post on the forum, but the math equation thingy is not working, so it won’t let me post any replies.

I know this is old post but if you have phlegm problems, could indicate dairy allergy, especially milk as fermented products like yoghurt are generally easier to digest. Also if your liver enzymes are raised, this could indicate Gilbert’s Syndrome. This means problems digesting starchy foods like wheat, grains, chickpeas, pulses etc..Also fats, though I tolerate animal and fish fat, but not short chain vegetable oils. Need to eat small meals and often.

I have intolerances to so many foods that I eat almost the same thing daily. But there was no sudden onset. I’ve had difficulties with my GI system since I was a baby. I don’t eat anything acidy it hurts my belly. I don’t eat meat because it slows me down and makes me tired. I don’t eat corn- and that’s corn starch, corn syrup, =dextrose that’s corn based, it makes my stomach blow up and hurt intensely. I’ve been diagnosed with Irritable bowel syndrome and hiatus hernia. So if this is a life long thing, will this help and how? Thanks, it’s always good to find more natural alternatives to prescriptions. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been given a prescription or a solution for a colonoscopy and there’s corn in it. I don’t take anything home from the pharmacy without checking the ingredients first. Even if I have to call the drug manufacturer from the drug store.

We originally purchased DE to deal with a bad year for fleas…actually, it was a good year for fleas…just bad for our dog, cats and us. I sprinkled it all over the house and truly, we haven’t had much flea trouble since. After reading/reasearching I began taking DE. I always felt very energetic afterward and aches and pains diminished but I never did it for long. I am encouraged now to go for it. The testimonials on EW sometimes sounds a bit “out there” even though I could read on that site for hours. What the heck, I’ve got a HUGE bag….might as well. I will follow this strand to see how everyone is doing on it.

Leslie I despise fleas so much! They just gross me out!!! Growing up we had outdoor cats that brought fleas in that infested our house once, and I’ll never forget walking across the living room in shorts and seeing them hopping onto my legs. Ewwww!!!! My mom had to bomb multiple times to finally get rid of them. If only she knew about DE back then, we wouldn’t have had to empty all the cabinets and hand wash every single dish because of all the chemicals from the bombs! Like you said, if you’ve already got it, you might as well take it! Keep us posted!

Hi Mellissa!! I stumbled upon your website via a post on my FB abt DE! I am abt 4 hrs from Norfolk, NE and just ordered some from Earthworks, will get it tomorrow! I too have trouble with sensitivites. Primarily chemicals, I think. My nervous system needs to take a chill pill, I feel sometimes :) I used to have migraines on a daily basis, ended up at a head pain clinic where they placed me on medication which helped for abt a year. After that I was introduced to NAET (allergy elimination technique) and did that for abt 5 years, cleared alot of my food and chemical allergies along with emotional blockages and I can say that I am not on any medicaiton and I don’t have migraines as much anymore :) My diet has evolved over the years to where I eat pretty healthy. I do green shakes and I enjoy my fruits and vegetables :) I don’t think I have a gluten intolerance per se but I do have to watch the amount of breads I consume in a day. My biggest problem right now is fatigue, the probiotics and digestive enzymes that I take seem to help with that. So I am thinking that my digestive system isnt breaking down food properly?? My doctor said I have an irritable bowel too-haha! Last winter I got a very bad stomach flu/virus(?) and ever since then my intestinal tract has never been the same since. I can’t wait to see what kind of results I will get with DE. I have done bentonite clay before and it kinda scared me cuz I couldn’t tell if it was leaving my body and I dont think it really made much of a difference. Will keep you posted on my results :)

I just started taking this, I’m on day two and am taking 2 tsp a day so far. I will work up to a Tbsp by end of week. So far I am having mild detox symptoms, coughing up a bit of gunk throughout the day, I read that can happen. My husband and 2 younger kids are taking it as well (my oldest is not very adventurous), we are excited and hopeful!!!

Hi Steph, sorry to hear that you are experiencing detox symptoms, but it’s nice to know that something is happening! I hope that your family has good results with it! We are on week three and my tendonitis that used to keep me awake at night has significantly improved in the last week – I’m hoping it will be completely gone at some point!! Keep us posted on your progress!!!

This shounds amazing! I’m gonna try it. I’m glad it works for you. I have had different food allergies for the last 12 years. Some worse than others and some coming and going. I’m glad to hear thsi has worked for you and I would be exstatic to be able to not live in constant fear that someone in a nearby vacinity is eating nuts and will cause my throat to close.

I got the DE to use for my chickens but read the applications for humans and thought I’d give it a try. The results were miraculous. It was time for my yearly check up and when the doctor took my blood pressure it was in the normal range for the first time in years. It seems to give me so much more energy. The skin and hair effects were just as miraculous. I have been taking it every day for about 8 months and would not live without it!

I really appreciate that you have shared your experience about DE. I am an advocate of DE. I have been taking DE for about seven months and have noticed my food intolerances have change dramatically for the better as well. Along with better energy, digestion, new hair growth..which I felt was becoming a problem. I now have my whole family taking DE, even our dog Pearl. Her coat is now soft and beautiful. she now has noticeable clear whites of her eyes & not a single ear mite present when there used to be intermittent scratching waking my husband & I in the middle of the night. I am a body worker & have recommended DE to a lot of my clients with much success. I don’t know what I would have done had I not found DE and incorporated it in my daily routine. I was completely frustrated because of my ever growing list of intolerances to everything. I began a gluten free diet, did not consume alcohol anymore, restricted my sugar intake to the extreme & nothing gave me any relief. Now I feel like a normal but improved human being making my way as gracefully as I can in the world…

here is where I bought food grade DE in bulk (stores well, just keep it dry) plus a free shipping offer hard to beat that, http://www.morethanalive.com/?a_aid=837c265b I like to mix it in my hot chocolate. I haven’t tried mixing it with water. I’ve read about mixing it with applesauce. We sprinkle a little on our dog’s food each day. We have a 64 lb dog/a lab.

Wow … that’s so Great you found DE , ya know what else it actually burns off the fats we eat and helps metabolism. Your article is absolutely one of the BEST Ive read on the net! I have been getting DE into people hands for years now I always said … “Its A Healthy Snowball At The Top Of The Hill And Going To Be A Healthy Boulder When It Gets To The Bottom! I was at the top of that hill in Aug 2006 and never looked back! ;)

P.S. I had Bursitis in my shoulder for yrs.. getting cortisone shots.. Welp! no more!!!! I Feel GREAT is what the customers and I @ 53 yrs say! ;)

Try mixing it with a small whisk if necessary, it really does need to be stirred well.

I mix a heaping tablespoon into apple cider first thing in the morning and take it on an empty stomach. The color and consistency seems more harmonious to me with the cider than other juices or water.

Almost immediately I noticed that my chronic sinus problems lessened and I could actually breathe, even at night.

It helped with digestive issues and in general I started to feel physically better with more energy. It didn’t stop my arthritis pain but it did lessen it somewhat. My joint problems are caused by some serious damage due to old injuries and I’m in my late 50’s. For me any improvement is great.

I took the DE for about 2 months then stopped. My sinus problems returned, I’m tired and hurt more. I’ve just started taking it again and will probably continue with it indefinitely. I don’t like how I feel without the DE.

I have this problem too!!! I’ve tried mixing it into a spoonful of yoghurt, letting it stand in a glass of water for awhile to see if it would dissolve, even mixing it into almond butter. Still gritty and horrible in the mouth. No bad flavour, but the texture is nearly impossible to choke down. I’d LOVE to find a way to make it more palatable, especially for my kids. I’ll try anything!!

I mix mine into my daily cup of coffee (just under a Tbsp per large cup of coffee is about as much as I can stand texture wise.) It also settles very fast, so keep swishing the liquid around in your cup to keep stirring it.

I’m coming in to this conversation late but hopefully this will help some people reading through this late like I am. DE is essentially “dirt” and while it is water soluble, it will not dissolve. It is critically important to only use the FOOD GRADE diatomaceous earth, the other stuff is deadly. It is also essential that you drink extra water while you take DE to help it do its work and to prevent dehydration, which brings on its own set of health problems. DE is harder than diamond and will “scrub” clean your insides but needs good, clean water to do it.

I take a tablespoon in the morning with ice cold water and it dissolves instantly. Not much of a waste, just a bit earthy tasting. I also take a tablespoon just before bed. I went up to 3 tablespoons a day and that was to much for me.

I take DE everyday. This is how I take it: I take one teaspoon of DE and put it in my cup. Then i pour 8oz. of water in the cup. Stir it around and drink half. Then stir it around again and drink the rest. It is not supposed to dissolve. It is “heavy” and will sink to the bottom of the cup if you don’t keep stirring. I do this 4 times a day because I can’t take one big tablespoon of it at one time. It is just too much for me. About 2 hours later, I have to go to the bathroom and do No. 2 Which is good because it is supposed to clean you out. Hope this helps.

I am so glad I stumbled upon this. I just had a mild anaphylaxis reaction last night due to my intolerances that I have had for about 5 years now. I’m desperate for them to go away. Thank you for sharing this information. I am a horse trainer, and we even have it in our horses feed products for their sensitive tummy’s.

I’m coming back from a black mold toxicity and it has been so rough. Not a single doctor has been helpful. I’ve done everything I can from a “natural” standpoint, but it’s been so slow and I’ve really hit a wall the past year or so. Can’t wait to try it!

For those of you concerned about the safety of this you can feel more calm. DE is used in most bulk storage by commercial entities. Grains especially are stored with DE. When I buy it at the feed store this is what the bag says it is for — protecting food during storage.

Hi Jen, I’m sorry to hear that it’s not helping your issues (at least not yet!) but hopefully you’ll get some relief soon – whether it’s from the DE or something else. Maybe if you try taking it with water on an empty stomach first thing in the morning instead of mixing it with your food it will make a difference?? I have no idea, just guessing! But since it’s so absorbent, if you take it with food it could be absorbing the food and proteins and then not be able to absorb other things as effectively? Like trying to use a saturated sponge to mop up a spill?? Like I said, I’m grasping at straws, but maybe it’s worth a try! Keep us posted!

Hello; I found diatomacious earth in 2009. I had not been diagnosed with anything as I choose to look for alternative answers and not get stuck with a “diagnonsis”, I had given up all grains, dairy for years with noted results, but still had stomach pain, gas, bloating and if I made a choice to eat wheat it was like someone took a brillo pad to my guts as the food made its way thru my digestive system and my poor tummy was beat up for days. A friend of mine who had tummy issues also decided to try the diatomacious earth at the same time.

For me it was the turning point, I can treat myself to grains with no side effects, dairy is no longer a problem. I just choose not to eat much of either because I feel heathier without them.

The big point here, is that all the pain, soreness, gas, bloating, you name it,,,has gone and its been gone for years!!! I can actually push on my tummy without pain,,,for years now!!

There was such little information out there at the time except how to use if for your animals ( I sprinkle it on my carpets,,and directly on the animals, on their beds,,etc – but again – they are not to breathe this stuff in,,so that can be easier said then done.. and I never use it near their face )- if you have ever googled this stuff you will see it looks like pre-historic circular razor blades – and thats why it works so well,,, it literally cuts the parasites to pieces,,,its not depleting your bacterial count, (although I strongly believe in probiotics ) and thats why you DONT want it in your lungs…

As for my friend, it didnt help her at all,,, so we are wondering if I had a long term parasite problem,,, and she didnt. I had travelled some out of the country in my earlier years and always felt like I might have parasites, but good luck getting diagnosed by a doctor!

As for how long to take it,,, trust your body, there is no clear cut answer as you are an indivdual, trust yourself, listen to your body and you will know if several weeks, or months is the answer for you. I find when my body has had enough, suddenly I begin forgetting to take it!! Its like your subconscous knows before the conscous does.

I hope this helps and best wishes to you.

Ive never felt the need to take any more after taking it in 2009, but if ever felt the need, would try it again!

And remember, many people dont do well on grains, meat, dairy, sugar – find alternative ways to nourish your body!! I eat mostly a raw diet now and for me my engine runs cleaner!!

I used DE about 18 years ago for fungus and parasites. It worked great. I was juicing fresh vegetables then and I just added it to my juice. I’ve been thinking it is time to use it again. Thanks for the info.

Cherie, it doesn’t really taste like anything to me, and I just take it in water. But you can add to to your coffee, juice, milk or whatever you prefer. The key is to stir it up well and drink it before it settles. The last bit of it has a chalky texture but other than that I really don’t mind it at all!

The only thing I would warn about is DO NOT INHALE as this can do some really bad damage to your lungs. As long as its suspended in water and you dont sniff any of it up between the tub and the glass its safe….so when adding water add a small amount at a time so that the powder doesnt billow up and out of the glass and you inhlae it by accident.

I am curious as to how long you drank this? Is it an everyday thing, a couple of weeks or is it as needed? My husband is great about a healthier diet, (gluten/dairy free) while I struggle to let go of my oreos. We both have had digestive problems and I am anxious to try this. I’m just wasn’t sure on how long you had to take it for.

I’ve been taking it two weeks today Tammy – and I had results for my particular issues within a week. I plan to take it for at least 6 months every day and then I’ll revisit to see if I might reduce it to a few days a week – or two weeks on two weeks off maybe. Not sure but for now it’s 1 heaping tablespoon per day! Hope it helps you, keep us posted!

I have been taking DE since early December and though I didn’t notice a difference right away, I feel it has helped me. I am lactose intolerant and taking the DE has helped, I am probably gluten sensitive too. I have noticed that I don’t have diarrhea any longer and no stomach cramps an hour to 2 hours after I eat. My hair is not falling out as much and my joints don’t hurt as bad, (though I am taking an herbal supplement for that). All in all I feel it has helped and I am going to continue for a few more months. I have not changed my diet, but I feel I am going to anyway. I can’t say it has given me more energy, but I don’t feel depleted and I work as a massage therapist 8-10 hours a day. I would suggest people try it for 3 months and see what happens. Like any natural remedy give it some time to work as it works with your body and doesn’t mask symptoms.

I’ve been taking DE for 4 mos. It helped me lise 18 lbs. mMy sugar cravings are gone.. I gave it to our ferrel cat, Goldie who HAD mange, was losing weight, had flees also, and very thirsty.. Within 4 days, he was already better. I thought I was seeing things!! 4 mos. later, he looks like a new cat!! His fur is MUCH better; he’s not itchy, looks calm and happy.. I put a tsp of DE in his wet foot, with 1 tsp of coconut oil. I am now using this on the other 4 cats as well. I now give it to my hubby and I swear his Sleep Apnea is gone. He has high blood pressure, cholosterol, watching for results. LOVE this product! MIRACULOUS!!!

I’m not sure Karen, you should probably do your own research on that and decide whether it’s worth it for you. I have read testimonials of women who have used it safely while pregnant and nursing but that’s really a personal decision. It absorbs toxins that are already there while passing through you, I’m not sure how much toxins (if any) it releases that stay in your bloodstream. Definitely give it a try when you’re done nursing though (if not before)!

when you go the cilantro, only use the leaves. I had a dentist that was in to natural stuff and he turned me onto Cilantro as a detox of heavy metals but he said the stems were high in Vitamin C and for some reason it wasn’t as effective with the stems. His research said that cancer cells had heavy metals as a center so if you got rid of the heavy metals then tumors wouldn’t grow as well????? He would tell me of many cures he got when he would ask teenagers to take out all the piercings :)

I like the idea of the mint dropped in. We humans just don’t keep up with something that does not taste good. I know the kids will not……….Thanks for all the info. Can’t wait to get to the store tomorrow……….

I have a question… I thought the way the DE works is because it is dry and microscopically has sharp edges (or you know what I mean). When it gets wet out in the garden I have to reapply. So how does it help to mix it in water and drink it? I assumed once it was wet it wasn’t any good.

Not sure where I read this info….But I read a comment where a woman was offering her experience with DE. Apparently in her couple…one had high blood pressure and the other had low blood pressure…Apparently the DE increased the low blood pressure problem and decreased the high blood pressure…interesting…

I find the info on DE very interesting. I have struggled with digestive issues for a number of years. I initially thought the answer was gluten as when I discontinued eating it I found relief. But then it started up again, granted not as bad as when I was eating gluten, but very similar symptoms nonetheless. I am constantly trying to figure out what it was I had recently eaten that upset my digestive system and just when I think I am making progress there it goes again leaving me stumped as to what caused it. So this is definitely worth a try.

Thanks for that Janice, I hope that the DE helps and please do keep us posted. Regarding the cilantro, in my search for things to help my allergy problem, I also came across a few sources that recommended cilantro for detox – and especially to detox heavy metals like mercury. Interesting how much food can play a role in our health and wellness! I’m always fascinated by this stuff!

Hi – I also thought my food allergies were gluten. Turns out I have gout and once I started adjusting my diet for that I found that a lot of the issues I though were wheat or keyboarding injuries went away.

I’m so glad you’re feeling better!! After a stressful event, I broke out with a horrible case of psoriasis. When it’s flared up, it’s unbearable and I can’t even leave the house. I’ve been searching high and low for anything that can help me before I resort to the medications suggested that have side effects way scarier than the disease itself. I’ve read it could be related to candida. Getting back to my low carb roots has helped, I think but I’m definitely intrigued by your DE post.

Again, I’m so thrilled you’re better. PS I have your cauliflower brownies in the oven as we speak. Can’t wait to try them!!

Thanks so much Andrea! I’m sorry to hear about your psoriasis flare up, I’ve never had it but I have friends who do and it’s horrible. I hope that you try the DE and get good results with it, if you do try it please let us know if it helps at all! Also let me know how you liked the brownies – they are best after they have time to cool a bit – especially after a night in the fridge! Enjoy!

The brownies were a hit! Not a trace of cauliflower at all! I might try some with some sweeter chocolate… more carbs I know but… They were great. My DE should be here tomorrow. I’m praying for a miracle. :)

Glad to hear you’re able to eat again… That must have been terrible. I recently had to have my gallbladder removed, and the experience leading up to it was not fun! I find this info on DE fascinating – and wonder whether I should take it even without symptoms? I’ll have to research some more about its effects on BP and cholesterol. Thanks for the info, and welcome back!

I don’t blame you for being skeptical – if I hadn’t had such dramatic results with it I would be too. I read on one of the FAQs that it doesn’t harm the good bacteria but I can’t remember why. Just to be on the safe side though, I’m supplementing with probiotics as well.

I do not have a source to back up what I am about to say but I have been doing a lot of research on DE lately, and from what I remember pathogens (bad bacteria) are positively charged and the DE is negatively charged so it attracts them (you can verify this easily if you research it). Hope this helps! Supplementing with probiotics is always a good idea for different reasons though, although I would strongly recommend eating fermented foods vs. buying a probiotic supplement for optimal gut health.

DE has a strong negative charge. Therefore, when taken internally, the diatomaceous earth attracts and absorbs positively-charged pathogens into its cylinder – it absorbs the things we want to stay away from, likeviruses, pathogenic fungi and bacteria, heavy metals, prescription drug residues, pesticides, parasites, radiation, and the like – and sweeps them out of our bodies.

Hi Melissa, Thanks for your post, I’m going to try this! I find that since doing a whole30 I am getting violent reactions to some foods that I hadn’t noticed previously. I live is South Africa, and I found a DE stockist! Yay!

Awesome! I plan on taking at least one heaping tablespoon per day for a few months to be sure I’m getting all of the benefits – then I’ll see, might reduce it to a few times a week or something. Or maybe I’ll just keep taking it every day! Can’t wait to hear back, I think I’ll start a thread on the forum about DE so people can add their experiences to it.

I’ve recently become overwhelmed with food intolerances that literally have come out if nowhere and have no explanation – I’ve reduced my “safe menu options” to just a handful of basic items and I seem to react to EVERYTHING. I’m a tough girl, but it’s gotten to the point that I’m at my wit’s end, and reading this has gotten me so excited to try it!

My mom was once “rescued” from disabling carpal tunnel syndrome by an old home remedy of taking apple cider vinegar on a daily basis. It was suggested to her randomly by an elderly woman who witnessed her struggling to pick up something from her shopping cart. She tried it as a last resort and result was nothing short of miraculous. I would not have believed it had I not seen it with my own eyes.

I have terrible food allergies. I am trying this as I write. It has been a week now and I will put it to test on the foods I used to be able to eat. I will keep you posted on the results. My food allergies come as a result of being catapulted into them by a doctor.

Keep us posted Cheri, I hope the DE helps you like it did me! I still can’t believe it and keep waiting to have a reaction now that the pollen count is so high and so far I can still eat anything with no trouble, even seafood! It’s like a miracle!

how does it work for fleas and what do you do to use it with animals do you put it on the animal itself or do you put on ground or do you do both,, Never heard of this product it would be great to have something easy for fleas as they are nuts from all the dry weathr we had last year they are out in full force know so need something .. tyvm

I put some on their bedding, under cushions on furniture and under furniture and rubbed some on my dogs coat, working it down next to his skin. Be careful not to let them breathe the dust. It worked great. He is sensitive to the common flea and tick treatments so I was forced to research and this was the most effective treatment I found. No ill effects.

I use both the food grade for the home and I buy big bags from the local livestock store for my chickens and other animals. I had maggots on one of my chickens and it worked great on her. I dusted her with it and the maggots were falling off. By the end of the day they were all gone. My new kitten had fleas last summer so I thought that I would try DE on her. I am against chemical flea killer so I was really hoping this worked. I dusted her fur and rubbed it down to her skin repeatedly over the course of many weeks to no avail. It did not work at all. I have used this in my chickens best when they had a outbreak of mites and it worked great but not at all on the fleas. Had to eventually use flea killer from the vets office. It worked immediately. There is no harm in trying it though. Just be careful around their faces as this is not nice in the mucus membranes and is very hard on the lungs.

Be advised that this is an effective, but not necessarily ‘easy’, fix for fleas. It works great, but takes a LONG time. I’ve been using DE for about a month for fleas in my home. One of my cats got out one day and brought in fleas that she promptly shared with all our cats. Shortly after, two of our cats showed signs of worms. I started giving a tsp each cat mixed with wet food (and 500mg pumpkin seed oil for each cat) for worm control. During the process of worming, you will see LOTS of flea eggs wherever the cats are bedding (read: on your bed, on your blankets, on your clothing if they nap there) Its gross, but this is a sign its working!! The eggs (and worms) are being excreted and are dying. Instead of being plump, white viable eggs, they appear as shriveled, yellow/orange eggs. They’re being dehydrated by the DE and will not survive to develop into flea larva. If you try DE for parasite elimination in your pet, be consistent with it. Your cats need to be dosed (1tsp/cat per day mixed with wet food) every day or they will start showing signs of worms again (I skipped a day and literally saw some creepy crawlies coming out of the bums of my furry friends!)

The key to using DE as a pest controller on your pets is consistency. You have to powder them with DE weekly, feed them their dose of DE in their food daily, and vacuum, vacuum, vacuum!! That’s the only way it will work. Consistency!!

DE will dehydrate fleas and other insects with an exoskeleton by creating cuts in the exoskeleton which slowly dehydrates the little buggers. It is so fine that it will get into their joints and cut them up, also causing dehydration. If you’re still seeing fleas after using DE for two weeks, keep at it! You are likely seeing the next generation of fleas that will shortly succumb to the DE dehydration. Fleas can lay a lot of eggs in their lifetimes which can stay viable and in your home (couch cushions, cracks in baseboards, vents) for months. Breaking the life cycle of fleas is what is effective. It can take awhile to do this since fleas have such a short reproduction timeline and new fleas can appear in days or weeks which makes it seem like its not working. Dust your carpets with DE and vacuum them daily. This will suck up viable eggs/larva/adult fleas and swirl them around in your vacuum with the DE. Be sure to empty your canister outside, as the live fleas will jump out of your garbage and back onto your pets.

Don’t give up on DE, its not a one time easy fix, but it definitely works.

(also works on cockroaches and silverfish. Sprinkle it in your cupboards and leave it there. Insects will track it back to their nests and eradicate themselves!)

My holistic vet recommended this tag they wear, it lasts 4 yrs, non-toxic, #nofleas #noticks #nochemicals I personally am a tick and mosquito magnet, so I wear it also (2 because I weigh more than 80 lbs.) He says to layer the protection because nothing is 100% so I use a garlic spray in the yard and I sprinkle brewer’s yeast on my pet’s food… to go in the woods we would spray with essential oils…I am just learning of DE, as with Lyme I have parasites…got the Lyme years before I switched to the holistic vet.http://www.petprotector.org/?ID=46656

Hi Mellissa Question if i may, how much for my 8 year and my 4 year gilrs ? and what bout probiotics for kids ? IF so probiotics for kids can you avice of a good brand ? can you give me the web site that it states no good bacteria is taking out by DE. THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP

Google Chris Kresser. He has a good recommendation for a good kids prebiotic and probiotic. And yes, you need prebiotics to enhance the effectiveness of the probiotic. I ordered his recommendation and give it to my toddler every day.

@Laura McLaughlin – First, I release this forum is a year old but I just wanted to say to Laura that what she described sounds EXACTLY like a stomach ulcer caused by a bacteria called Helicobacter pylori (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helicobacter_pylori). I’ve had this myself. The treatment is a very powerful dose of anti-biotics. NOT D.E.

I also have been taking DE only for a little while and I’ve noticed some positive and what I would call some negative (pro: increased energy, need less sleep, generally feel good, con: dry.. dry nose, dry eyes, thirsty) but urine output remains normal.

The thing that concerns me more than the lack of FDA/Health Canada approval regarding this substance is the way people give each other advice.

Let me give you mine ;)

DE is used as a pro-active approach to our health. It’s not _medicine_. You should be seeking help if you have a problem of some kind for a specific issue. As they say that over 70% of our immune system lives in the gut and that the gut is tied into everything in our bodies it makes a HUGE amount of sense to keep it clean. We know that modern farming and food processing removes most of the good things from the food we eat but if we avoid processed foods and keep our sugar, salt and bad fats under control then that’s already a large part of the battle.

DE is supplement to keep parasites away is one added thing you can do. It should be a part of your larger strategy, not a magic bullet.

Also, for me, I started REALLY low doses (1/4 teaspoon). Why? Because I don’t trust lay-people’s knowledge. There is an old phrase that comes to mind: one man’s meat is another man’s poison.

I think if I took a tablespoon or more more than once a day it would _not_ be good of for me.

Humans are silica deficient (for many reasons) but a table spoon per day seems like using a flamethrower to kill a mouse.

If you are thinking of using DE, do your research and understand that people here and other places are simply sharing; that does not mean we are informed or have trustworthy knowledge.

I agree. I started with 1/4 t w/8 oz of water 3 times a day for 10 days. Then 1/2 t w/8 oz of water 3 times a day for 10 days. Finally, 1 t w/8 oz of water 3 times a day, and continue to today. Results were elimination of many odd things. After one year, feel great with the results through elimination, arthritic symptoms reduced, sinus problems greatly reduced and more. Thanks.

It kills the bugs because they are tiny and the DE (also tiny) does damage to their bodies. Food grade DE is ground to be even finer and it’s not at all harmful to humans. But to bugs it’s like rolling around on broken glass.

good evenning,i have been struggling with scabies for almost three years.I ordered DE food grade hoping to finally find the solution to my nightmare.I have tried everything with no luck.I have been taking it for a week now,but i still feel the discomfort on the bottom of my feet,my question is..how long must i wait before i get results?

Hi Lily, I’m afraid I don’t have any experience with this (though someone else may answer your comment who does) so I can’t really say. Are you taking it internally or dusting your feet with it? I found this thread about treating scabies with DE (and a few other techniques) that sounds promising – hope it helps!!!

I recently had scabies and the ONLY thing that helped me was using the DE. Use it on your skin and take it internally as well. Sprinkle it in your shoes to get rid of it on your feet. The itching, crawling and biting sensations will continue for a while but be careful not to get reinfected from your mattress, car seat, sofa, chairs, etc. All areas need a dose of DE. You can conquer scabies with DE Honestly, scabies almost sent me over the edge after only about 3 months. Don’t know how you endured this long. It is one of the top 3 worst things I have ever faced in my life.

As an RN I wanted to mention something else. The key to good health is a healthy digestive tract (a fact often overlooked by the medical profession as they are adept at treating symptoms rather than finding root causes). This is where nutrients are absorbed and wastes are collected and expelled. Therefore when your gut is clean, you create an environment for general good health that affects all bodily organs as well as how the body functions. That’s the miracle of DE!!

A couple of things: drink plenty of fluids (preferably water) when taking DE because it drys you out. The other thing is the precaution that it will hurt you if you breathe it in. That is true of the non-food grade DE used in pools, etc. it has been heat-treated and contains crystals that are detrimental to lung tissue. The food grade DE which is the ONLY kind to take internally and does not contain crystals, is safe. You don’t want to unnecessarily breathe it in but you don’t have to be afraid it will harm lung tissue.

Hi my name is Marilyn I started taken diatomaceous earth for one week now since I took it I got a pain on my right side underneath my rib that courses lots of gas can you tell me why am I feeling this way I really wanted to take it to my my loose neck that I began to see improvement but now I’m afraid to take it course it happen twice with sharp pain now that I stop taken it pain went away I’m so sad that it made me sick.

I know this is an old post and question. But just incase you are still battling with scabies…..make a paste out of the DE. Put this paste all over ur body a night and then shower every morning until ur symptoms begin to fade away. Good luck and I hope you are able to get some relief.

Hi there, I know your post was a long time ago, but what helped me was organic clove essential oil diluted in coconut oil. it kills them in 15 minutes, put this on your self every night, I was ecstatic after suffering with them for 6 months.

DE is just petrified organisms that have been pulverized. It is not poisonous to breathe, but your body will not dissolve or absorb it. If inhaled in a large enough quantity it will turn into a concrete like substance. Also, be very careful about getting it in your eyes. It will scratch the living bejeezus out of them. ( This I know from experience). It took 3 months to get it all out of my eyes and have them finally heal. Just F.Y.I. I have taken it in water everyday for a month before, but I don’t know If it had an effect or not. I’ll try it again since I’m tracking BP now.

[…] Some people ingest DE as a de-toxifer and claim that it’s beneficial to bones, skin, nails, and hair because it contains silica. A teaspoon added to juice, water, or a smoothie makes it more palatable. Since DE isn’t regulated by the FDA, there aren’t any official claims of its health benefits to humans, but there are plenty of positive testimonials you can read online. […]

[…] Some people ingest DE as a de-toxifer and claim that it’s beneficial to bones, skin, nails, and hair because it contains silica. A teaspoon added to juice, water, or a smoothie makes it more palatable. Since DE isn’t regulated by the FDA, there aren’t any official claims of its health benefits to humans, but there are plenty of positive testimonials you can read online. […]

[…] to feed on. Nutritional supplementation with various other substances like bentonite clay and diatomaceous earth was also mentioned, but my focus was mostly on the benefits of giving animals a natural environment […]

[…] "I went from being able to eat and drink almost nothing without having a reaction, to now being able to eat and drink pretty much anything. I credit this amazing change to the diatomaceous earth I started taking almost 2 weeks ago." […]

[…] UPDATE: Since I wrote this post, I started taking Diatomaceous Earth and all of my food and chemical intolerances disappeared within a week! Read about my incredible experience with DE, and its many other health benefits here. […]

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My name is Mellissa Sevigny, and I use my culinary powers for good here at IBIH by creating delicious and satisfying low carb & keto recipes. If you’re looking to lose weight, feel amazing, AND eat some of the best food you’ve ever tasted – you’ve come to the right place. Welcome! Dig deeper →